








































































































































The University of Chicago Publications 
in Religious Education 


Edited by 

W. C. BOWER EDWIN E. AUBREY 
W. C. GRAHAM 







PRINCIPLES of PREACHING 


THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS 
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 


THE BAKER & TAYLOR COMPANY 
NEW YORK 

THE CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS 
LONDON 

THE MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA 
TOKYO, OSAKA, KYOTO, FUKUOKA, SENDAI 

THE COMMERCIAL PRESS, LIMITED 
SHANGHAI 


PRINCIPLES ./PREACHING 

A TEXTBOOK, BASED ON THE INDUCTIVE 
METHOD, FOR CLASS USE AND 
PRIVATE STUDY 


OZORA S. DAVIS 


•I 

President and Professor of Practical Theology 
The Chicago Theological Seminary , 1909-1931 



THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS 
CHICAGO - ILLINOIS 












TABLE OF CONTENTS 

PART I. SERMON STUDIES 

PACE 

Instructions for Study .xi 

Work Sheet .xiii 

STUDY 

I. Robertson, “Obedience the Organ of Spiritual 

Knowledge”. 3 

II. Bushnell, “Unconscious Influence” .... 18 

III. Brooks, “The Light of the World” .... 41 

IV. Beecher, “What Is Christ to Me?” .... 68 

V. Chalmers, “The Expulsive Power of a New 


Affection” .96 

VI. Spurgeon, “Songs in the Night”. 121 


VII. Newman, “Christ, the Son of God Made Man”. 152 
VIII. Ainsworth, “Star Counting and Heart Healing” 170 

PART II. PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


CHAPTER 

I. The Sermon .184 

II. The Text. 191 

III. The Title and Subject. 199 

IV. The Proposition.205 

V. The Introduction.210 

VI. The Conclusion .217 


IX 













X 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 

VII. The Plan. 221 

VIII. Sources of Sermon Material.228 

IX. Illustrations.237 

X. Transitions.247 

XI. Unity.250 

XII. Style. 255 

Index.267 









INSTRUCTIONS FOR STUDY 


This book is divided into two parts; 

I. Materials for study and criticism. 

II. The findings or conclusions derived from an 
inductive study of Part I, setting forth the principles 
of preaching. 

In Part I eight sermons are printed, with introductory 
and explanatory notes. It is important that some idea 
of the personality and work of the preacher should be 
gained in order that it may always be apparent that 
the sermon is the product of truth and personality. 
Each of these sermons was preached by a man intensely 
alive, facing problems similar to those that engage the 
modern preacher. We need constantly to renew this 
sense of the vitality of preaching; therefore we never 
divorce the sermon from the preacher. 

The method of study is inductive, following the 
procedure of a literary laboratory. 

The Work Sheet, printed on pages xiii-xvii, is to be 
followed exactly in the study of each sermon. It is the 
uniform guide for all the work done in Part I and must be 
referred to constantly. 

The following directions are to be carried out in each 
Study: 

i. Use a separate sheet or card, of uniform size, 
for the report on each item bearing a Roman numeral 
in the Work Sheet. Do not report on more than one 
item on any one sheet or card. 


INSTRUCTIONS FOR STUDY 


xii 


Each sheet or card is to be headed with the Roman 
numeral, the name of the preacher, and the item. For 
example: 


I. Robertson. Impression 
(Written report) 


2. Preserve each sheet or card thus numbered and 
containing the full report of the work done under each 
head. This will furnish the material for the inductive 
study to be done in Part II. For example, when the 
work in Part I is complete, eight sheets or cards will be 
available for the study of “IV. Text, ,, and each sheet 
or card will enable one to refer at once to the page of the 
sermon studied. 

3. Do not fail to make every citation in the reports 
by page and line. This is imperative. Always indicate 
the divisions exactly in the analysis of a sermon. 

4. Study the Notes printed after each sermon. These 
are always given according to the Roman numerals 
that indicate the items of the Work Sheet. 

5. The thoroughness and accuracy of the critical 
study and reports, according to the instructions of the 
Work Sheet, will determine the worth of the findings in 
Part II. This is a textbook for serious study, and its 
value will be conditioned entirely upon the hard work 
done by the one who uses it. 






INSTRUCTIONS FOR STUDY 


xiii 


WORK SHEET 

I. Impression 

Sermons are oral addresses; therefore the best way 
in which to restore them from their printed to their 
spoken form is to read them aloud, at one sitting, using 
the imagination to make real the preacher, the place, 
and the responsive congregation. 

After reading the sermon aloud, write the general 
impression made upon you, comparing it with the effect 
of other sermons already studied, or with those that you 
have heard or read elsewhere. 

In what respects would this sermon meet the needs of 
the congregation with which you are most familiar 
today? How would it fail? What modifications do 
you suggest ? 

II. Analysis 

Make an analysis of the sermon to discover its plan, 
indicating at least the major and first minor points. 
Use the following scheme, and do not fail to indicate 
all divisions by page and line. 

SCHEME FOR SERMON ANALYSIS 

Introduction 

A. 

B. 

C. 

(It will seldom be necessary to carry out the analysis 
of the Introduction to details; but use capital letters if 
required) 

I. First major point. State and give pages and lines. 

A. First minor point 

B. Second minor point 

C. Third minor point 


XIV 


INSTRUCTIONS FOR STUDY 


II. Second major point 

A. First minor point 

B. Second minor point 

C. Third minor point 

Continue the analysis according to this scheme. 
Conclusion 

A. 

B. 

C. 

III. Title 

Does it describe the contents ? Is it clear ? Interest¬ 
ing ? Easily remembered ? Suggest improvement, if 
any desirable. 

IV. Text 

Sentence, clause, phrase, or word ? 

Literal meaning preserved ? 

Correct explanation given ? 

V. Subject 

Formally announced? Where? 

If not, state it. 

Differs from title ? How ? 

Differs from text ? How ? 

Interesting ? Vital ? Worth discussion ? 

VI. Proposition 

How and where stated? 

Interesting? Clear? Concise? 

If not stated, where implied? 

State it in your own terms. 


INSTRUCTIONS FOR STUDY 


xv 


VII. Introduction 

Clearly defined? Formally announced? 

Leads into discussion? How? 

Too long? Too short? Suggest changes. 

Character of first sentence: Arrests attention? 
Creates interest? 

Suggest changes. 

VIII. Conclusion 

Clearly defined? Formally announced? 

Character: Resumptive? Hortatory? Oratorical? 
Appealing for decision? 

Suggest changes. 

IX. Plan 

Is the subject or proposition carefully developed? 

Is the plan announced? If so, how? If not, is 
there a sense of the plan that impresses you? 

Does the discussion make progress? 

Does each point: Add to the preceding? Merely 
accent it? Weaken it? 

Where is the climax reached and how attained? 

What is the proportion of each sermon part? Esti¬ 
mate this from the analysis and determine the balance. 

X. Sources of Material 

Note the sources from which the material is derived 
and estimate the amounts roughly under the following 
and other groups: 

Per Cent 

Results of preacher’s own thinking. 

Bible interpretations and quotations. 

History and literature. 

Observation of contemporary fife. 






XVI 


INSTRUCTIONS FOR STUDY 


XI. Illustrations 

List and locate all the illustrations in the sermon, 
either on a separate sheet or on 3 X 5 inch cards. In the 
latter case, using the same card for a subject and noting 
the illustrations drawn from that subject in all the 
sermons studied, the material for the final study of 
illustration will be quickly available. Such a card would 
be like the following: 


Light 

1. A morning ray touching the mist. 

Robertson, p. 10, 11 . 191, 192 

2. The day that brings no dawn. Light and darkness. 

Bushnell, p. 24, 1 . 129—p. 25, 1 . 142 

3. The study of light at morning, noon, and evening 

Brooks, p. 44, 11 . 46-51 

4. Noble characters like lights. 

Brooks, p. 46, 11 . 124-27 


Are any: Old or trite? Dull or commonplace? 
Inaccurate or untrue? Too detailed? 

What is the best example in the sermon and why is it 
an effective illustration? 

XII. Transitions 

Study the way in which the preacher passes from one 
paragraph to another. List the terms used to connect 
the thought. Note where the change is abrupt and 
imagine in what way the feeling of lack of unity might 
have been avoided by the delivery, e.g., a gesture. 

Does the preacher: Move across logically? Jump 
over? Leave you suspended? 




INSTRUCTIONS FOR STUDY 


XVII 


XIII. Unity 

Is there a single purpose carried through the sermon? 
Is there a single subject logically developed? 

Is the style consistently unified throughout? 

If there are faults under any of the foregoing ques¬ 
tions, name and locate them. 

XIV. Style 

Study the writer’s style and give an example of each 
of the following qualities; also cite fully any fault 
under each heading: 

Purity 

Precision 

Clearness 

Energy 

Beauty 

Naturalness 

Individuality 

Before working this section it will be necessary to get 
the definition of the foregoing terms as given on pages 
2 55 “ 6 °- 

XV. General Observations 

Is the purpose of this sermon to state the gospel to 
those who have not heard it; or to restate it to those 
who have heard it? 

Does this sermon contain a positive message? 

What particular devices does the preacher use to 
make the truth vivid and easy to be remembered? 

Give sentences worth memorizing or filing in addition 
to those given in XIV above. 














PART I 


SERMON STUDIES 








SERMON STUDY I 


ROBERTSON, “OBEDIENCE THE ORGAN OF 
SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE ” 

INTRODUCTORY NOTES 

Frederick W. Robertson, Anglican, who exerted as 
great an influence after his death upon the English- 
speaking pulpit as any man in the history of preaching, 
was only thirty-seven years old when he died and his 
term of active service in the pulpit was about thirteen 
years. He has been called the “most remarkable 
English preacher of the nineteenth century.” He was 
bom in 1816 and died in 1853. His desire was to follow 
the tradition of his family and prepare for military 
service; but when no door opened in the line of his 
ambition he studied theology and entered the church. 
The last six years of his life were spent in Brighton; 
he is often known as “Robertson of Brighton.” His 
deep influence was somewhat due to the good fortune by 
which Rev. Stopford A. Brooke became his biographer 
and certain friends transcribed and published his sermons. 
Robertson is still worthy of careful study as a master of 
preaching. 

The methods by which Robertson worked are 
explained by him as follows: 

The word extempore does not exactly describe the way I 
preach. I first make copious notes; then draw out a form 
(rough plan); afterwards write copiously, sometimes twice 
or thrice, the thoughts, to disentangle them and arrange 


3 


4 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


them into a connected whole; then make a syllabus, and. 
lastly, a skeleton which I take into the pulpit. 1 

The sermons themselves, as noted in the original 
edition, 

are not notes previously prepared, nor are they Sermons 
written before delivery. They are simply “Recollections”: 
sometimes dictated by the Preacher himself to the younger 
members of a family in which he was interested, at their 
urgent entreaty; sometimes written out by himself for them 
when they were at a distance and unable to attend his 
ministry. 2 

Therefore, Robertson’s sermons furnish an example 
of pulpit discourses in their simplest forms and are 
admirably suited to introduce the student of the principles 
of preaching to the study of sermons themselves as the 
primary source of investigation. 

In addition to the volume of Sermons referred to in 
the footnote, the best source for further study is Life , 
Letters , Lectures and Addresses of Frederick W. Robertson , 
M.A., Incumbent of Trinity Chapel , Brighton , 1847-1853. 
The first section of this complete volume, published in 
New York by Harper & Bros, in 1870, is the excellent 
biography by Stopford A. Brooke. 

1 Quoted in Currier, Nine Great Preachers , 1912, p. 264. 

2 Robertson, Sermons Preached at Brighton , p. v. New York: 
Harper, 1870. The sermon which follows is taken from pp. 300-307. 


ROBERTSON: “OBEDIENCE 


5 


OBEDIENCE THE ORGAN OF SPIRITUAL 
KNOWLEDGE 

Assize Sermon 

If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether 
it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.—John 7:17. 

The first thing we have to do is to put ourselves in posses¬ 
sion of the history of these words. 

Jesus taught in the Temple during the Feast of Taber¬ 
nacles. The Jews marvelled at His spiritual wisdom. The 
cause of wonder was the want of scholastic education: “How 5 
knoweth this man letters, never having learned ?” They had 
no conception of any source of wisdom beyond learning. 

He Himself gave a different account of the matter. 
“My doctrine is not mine, but His that sent me.” And how 
He came possessed of it, speaking humanly, He taught (John to 
5:30): “My judgment is just, because I seek not mine own 
will but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” 

That principle whereby He attained spiritual judgment 
or wisdom, He extends to all. “ If any man will do His will, 
he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether 15 
I speak of myself.” Here, then, manifestly, there are two 
opinions respecting the origin of spiritual knowledge: 

1. The popular one of the Jews, relying on a cultivated 
understanding. 

2. The principle of Christ, which relied on trained affec- 20 
tions, and habits of obedience. 

What is truth? “Study,” said the Jews. “Act,” said 
Christ, “and you shall know.” A very precious principle 
to hold by in these days, and a very pregnant one of thought 
to us, who during the next few days must be engaged in the 25 
contemplation of crime, and to whom the question will 
suggest itself, how can men’s lives be made true ? 

Religious controversy is fast settling into a conflict 
between two great extreme parties—those who believe every- 


6 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


30 thing, and those who believe nothing: the disciples of credu¬ 
lity, and the disciples of skepticism. 

The first rely on authority. Foremost among these, and 
the only self-consistent ones, are the adherents of the Church 
of Rome; and into this body, by logical consistency, ought 
35 to merge all—Dissenters, Churchmen, Bible Christians; all 
who receive their opinions because their sect, their church, 
or their documents assert them, not because they are true 
eternally in themselves. 

The second class rely solely on a cultivated understand- 
40 ing. This is the root principle of Rationalism. Enlighten, 
they say, and sin will disappear. Enlighten, and we shall 
know all that can be known of God. Sin is an error of the 
understanding, not a crime of the will. Illuminate the 
understanding, show man that sin is folly, and sin will dis- 
45 appear. Political economy will teach public virtue; knowl¬ 
edge of anatomy will arrest the indulgence of the passions. 
Show the drunkard the inflamed tissues of the brain, and he 
will be sobered by fear and reason. 

Only enlighten fully, and spiritual truths will be tested. 
50 When the anatomist shall have hit on a right method of 
dissection, and appropriated sensation to this filament of 
the brain, and the religious sentiment to that fibre, we shall 
know whether there be a soul or not, and whether conscious¬ 
ness will survive physical dissolution. When the chemist 
55 shall have discovered the principle of life, and found cause 
behind cause, we shall know whether the last cause of all is 
a personal will or a lifeless force. 

Concerning whom I only remark now, that these dis¬ 
ciples of skepticism easily become disciples of credulity. It 
60 is instructive to see how they who sneer at Christian mysteries 
as old wives’ fables bow in abject reverence before Egyptian 
mysteries of three thousand years’ antiquity; and how they 
who have cast off a God believe in the veriest imposture, and 
have blind faith in the most vulgar juggling. Skepticism 


ROBERTSON: “OBEDIENCE 


7 


and credulity meet. Nor is it difficult to explain. Distrust- 65 
ing everything, they doubt their own conclusions and their 
own mental powers; and that for which they cannot account 
presents itself to them as supernatural and mysterious. 
Wonder makes them more credulous than those they sneer at. 

In opposition to both these systems stands the Chris- 70 
tianity of Christ. 

1. Christ never taught on personal authority. “My 

doctrine is not mine. ,, He taught “not as the scribes.” 
They dogmatized: “because it was written”—stickled for 
maxims, and lost principles. His authority was the author- 75 
ity of truth, not of personality: He commanded men to 
believe, not because He said it, but He said it because it was 
true. Hence John 12:47, 48, ‘‘If any man hear my words, 
and believe not, I judge him not: the word that I have 
spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” 80 

2. He never taught that cultivation of the understand¬ 
ing would do all, but exactly the reverse. And so taught 
His apostles. St. Paul taught, “ The world by wisdom knew 
not God.” His Master said not that clear intellect will 
give you a right heart, but that a right heart and a pure life 85 
will clarify the intellect. Not, become a man of letters and 
learning, and you will attain spiritual freedom, but, do 
rightly, and you will judge justly; obey, and you will know. 
“My judgment is just, because I seek not mine own will but 
the will of the Father which sent me.” “ If any man will do 90 
His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, 

or whether I speak of myself.” 

I. The knowledge of the truth, or Christian knowledge. 

II. The condition on which it is attainable. 

I. Christian knowledge—“he shall know.” Its object, 95 
“the doctrine.” Its degree—certainty—“shall know” 

Doctrine is now, in our modern times, a word of limited 
meaning; being simply opposed to practical. For instance, 
the Sermon on the Mount would be called practical; 


8 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


ioo St. Paul’s Epistles, doctrinal. But in Scripture, doctrine 
means broadly, teaching; anything that is taught is doctrine. 
Christ’s doctrine embraces the whole range of His teaching— 
every principle and every precept. Let us select three depart¬ 
ments of “doctrine” in which the principle of the text will 
105 be found true—“If any man will do His will, he shall know 
of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of 
myself.” 

1. It holds good in speculative truth. If any man will 
do God’s will, he shall know what is truth and what is error, 
no Let us see how wilfulness and selfishness hinder impartiality. 
How comes it that men are almost always sure to arrive at 
the conclusions reached by their own party ? Surely because 
fear, interest, vanity, or the desire of being reckoned sound 
and judicious, or party spirit, bias them. Personal prospects, 
115 personal antipathies, these determine most men’s creed. 
How will you remove this hindrance ? By increased cultiva¬ 
tion of mind? Why, the Romanist is as accomplished as 
the Protestant, and learning is found in the church and out 
of it. You are not sure that high mental cultivation will 
120 lead a man either to Protestantism or to the Church of Eng¬ 
land. Surely, then, by removing self-will, and so only, can 
the hindrance to right opinions be removed. Take away 
the last trace of interested feeling, and the way is cleared 
for men to come to an approximation toward unity, even in 
125 judgment on points speculative; and so he that will do God’s 
will shall know of the doctrine. 

2. In practical truths the principle is true. It is more 
true to say that our opinions depend upon our lives and habits 
than to say that our lives depend upon our opinions, which is 
130 only now and then true. The fact is, men think in a certain 
mode on these matters because their life is of a certain char¬ 
acter, and their opinions are only invented afterwards as a 
defense for their life. 


ROBERTSON: “OBEDIENCE” 


9 


For instance, St. Paul speaks of a maxim among the 
Corinthians, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 135 
They excused their voluptuousness on the ground of its con¬ 
sistency with their skeptical creed. Life was short. Death 
came tomorrow. There was no hereafter. Therefore it was 
quite consistent to live for pleasure. But who does not see 
that the creed was the result, and not the cause of the life ? 140 
Who does not see that first they ate and drank, and then 
believed tomorrow we die ? “ Getting and spending, we lay 
waste our powers.” Eating and drinking, we lose sight of 
the life to come. When the immortal is overborne and 
smothered in the life of the flesh, how can men believe in 145 
life to come? Then disbelieving, they mistook the cause 
for the effect. Their moral habits and creed were in perfect 
consistency; yet it was the life that formed the creed, not 
the creed that formed the life. Because they were sensual¬ 
ists, immortality had become incredible. 150 

Again, slavery is defended philosophically by some. The 
negro, on his skull and skeleton, they say, has God’s intention 
of his servitude written; he is the inferior animal, therefore 
it is right to enslave him. Did this doctrine precede the slave- 
trade ? Did man arrive at it, and then, in consequence, con- 155 
scientiously proceed with human traffic ? Or was it invented 
to defend a practice existing already—the offspring of self- 
interest? Did not men first make slaves, and then search 
about for reasons to make their conduct plausible to 
themselves ? 160 

So, too, a belief in predestination is sometimes alleged in 
excuse of crime. But a man who suffers his will to be over¬ 
powered naturally comes to believe that he is the sport of 
fate; feeling powerless, he believes that God’s decree has 
made him so. But let him but put forth one act of loving 165 
will, and then, as the nightmare of a dream is annihilated by 
an effort, so the incubus of a belief in tyrannous destiny is 
dissipated the moment a man wills to do the will of God 


IO 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


Observe, how he knows the doctrine, directly he does the 
170 will. 

There is another thing said respecting this knowledge of 
truth. It respects the degree of certainty—“he shall know,” 
not he shall have an opinion. There is a wide distinction 
between supposing and knowing—between fancy and con- 
175 viction—between opinion and belief. Whatever rests on 
authority remains only supposition. You have an opinion 
when you know what others think. You know when you 
feel. In matters practical you know only so far as you can 
do. Read a work on the “Evidences of Christianity,” and 
180 it may become highly probable that Christianity, etc., are 
true. That is an opinion. Feel God, do His will, till the 
Absolute Imperative within you speaks as with a living voice 
“Thou shalt, and thou shalt not”; and then you do not 
think, you know that there is a God. That is a conviction 
185 and a belief. 

Have we never seen how a child, simple and near to God, 
cuts asunder a web of sophistry with a single direct question; 
how, before its steady look and simple argument, some fash¬ 
ionable utterer of a conventional falsehood has been abashed; 
190 how a believing Christian scatters the forces of skepticism, 
as a morning ray, touching the mist on the mountain side, 
makes it vanish into thin air? And there are few more 
glorious moments of our humanity than those in which faith 
does battle against intellectual proof; when, for example, 
195 after reading a skeptical book, or hearing a cold-blooded 
materialist’s demonstration in which God, the soul, and life to 
come are proved impossible, up rises the heart in all the giant 
might of its immortality to do battle with the understanding, 
and with the simple argument, “I feel them in my best and 
200 highest moments to be true,” annihilates the sophistries of 
logic. 

These moments of profound faith do not come once for 
all: they vary with the degree and habit of obedience. There 


ROBERTSON: “OBEDIENCE” 


ii 


is a plant which blossoms once in a hundred years. Like it, 
the soul blossoms only now and then in a space of years; but 
these moments are the glory and the heavenly glimpses of our 
purest humanity. 

II. The condition on which knowledge of truth is attain¬ 
able. “If any man will do His will, he shall know of the 
doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.” 

This universe is governed by laws. At the bottom of 
everything here there is a law. Things are in this way and 
not that; we call that a law or condition. All departments 
have their own laws. By submission to them, you make them 
your own. Obey the laws of the body—such laws as say, 
“Be temperate and chaste”; or of the mind—such laws as 
say, “Fix the attention, strengthen by exercise”; and then 
their prizes are yours—health, strength, pliability of muscle, 
tenaciousness of memory, nimbleness of imagination, etc. 
Obey the laws of your spiritual being, and it has its prizes 
too. For instance, the condition or law of a peaceful life 
is submission to the law of meekness: “Blessed are the meek, 
for they shall inherit the earth.” The condition of the 
Beatific vision is a pure heart and life: “Blessed are the pure 
in heart, for they shall see God.” To the impure, God is 
simply invisible. The condition annexed to a sense of God’s 
presence—in other words, that without which a sense of God’s 
presence can not be—is obedience to the laws of love: “If 
we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is 
perfected in us.” The condition of spiritual wisdom and 
certainty in truth is obedience to the will of God, surrender 
of private will: “If any man will do His will, he shall know 
of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of 
myself.” 

In every department of knowledge, therefore, there is an 
appointed “organ,” or instrument for discovery of its specific 
truth, and for appropriating its specific blessings. In the 
world of sense, the empirical intellect; in that world the 


205 

210 

215 

220 

225 

230 

235 


12 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


Baconian philosopher is supreme. His Novum Organon is 
240 experience; he knows by experiment of touch, sight, sound, 
etc. The religious man may not contravene his assertions: 
he is lord in his own province. But in the spiritual world, 
the “organ” of the scientific man—sensible experience—is 
powerless. If the chemist, geologist, physiologist, come back 
245 from their spheres and say, “We find in the laws of affinity, 
in the deposits of past ages, in the structure of the human 
frame, no trace nor token of a God,” I simply reply, “I never 
expected you would.” Obedience and self-surrender is the 
sole organ by which we gain a knowledge of that which can- 
250 not be seen or felt. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 
neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which 
God hath prepared for them that love Him.” And just as 
by copying perpetually a master-painter’s works we get 
at last an instinctive and infallible power of recognizing his 
255 touch, so by copying and doing God’s will we recognize what 
is His: we know of the teaching whether it be of God, or 
whether it be an arbitrary invention of a human self. 

2. Observe the universality of the law. “If any man 
will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be 
260 of God, or whether I speak of myself.” The law was true 
of the man Christ Jesus Himself. He tells us it is true of 
all other men. 

In God’s universe there are no favorites of heaven who 
may transgress the laws of the universe with impunity— 
265 none who can take fire in the hand and not be burnt—no 
enemies of heaven who, if they sow corn, will reap nothing 
but tares. The law is just and true to all: “Whatsoever a 
man soweth, that shall he also reap.” 

In God’s spiritual universe there are no favorites of 
270 heaven who can attain knowledge and spiritual wisdom apart 
from obedience. There are none reprobate by an eternal 
decree, who can surrender self, and in all things submit to 
God, and yet fail of spiritual convictions. It is not therefore 


ROBERTSON: “OBEDIENCE 


13 


a rare, partial condescension of God, arbitrary and causeless, 
which gives knowledge of the truth to some, and shuts it 275 
out from others, but a vast, universal glorious law. The light 
lighteth every man that cometh into the world. “If any 
man will do His will, he shall know.” 

See the beauty of this Divine arrangement. If the cer¬ 
tainty of truth depended upon the proof of miracles, prophecy, 280 
or the discoveries of science, then truth would be in the reach 
chiefly of those who can weigh evidence, investigate history, 
and languages, study by experiment; whereas as it is, “The 
meek will He guide in judgment, and the meek will He teach 
His way.” “Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth 285 
eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy 
place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit.” 

The humblest and weakest may know more of God, of moral 
evil and of good, by a single act of charity, or a prayer of self¬ 
surrender, than all the sages can teach: ay, or all the theo- 290 
logians can dogmatize upon. 

They know nothing, perhaps, these humble ones, of the 
evidences, but they are sure that Christ is their Redeemer. 
They cannot tell what “matter” is, but they know that they 
are spirits. They know nothing of the “argument from 295 
design,” but they feel God. The truths of God are spiritually 
discerned by them. They have never learned letters, but 
they have reached the Truth of Life. 

3. Annexed to this condition, or a part of it, is earnest¬ 
ness. “If any man will do His will.” Now, that word 300 
“will” is not the will of the future tense, but “will” meaning 
“volition”: if any man wills, resolves, has the mind to do the 
will of God. So then it is not a chance fitful obedience that 
leads us to the truth, nor an obedience paid while happiness 
lasts and no longer, but an obedience rendered in entireness 305 
and in earnest. It is not written, “ If any man does His will,” 
but if any man has the spirit and desire. If we are in ear¬ 
nest, we shall persevere like the Syrophenician woman, even 


14 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


though the ear of the universe seem deaf, and Christ Himself 
310 appear to bid us back. If we are not in earnest, difficulties 
will discourage us. Because will is wanting, we shall be 
asking still in ignorance and doubt, What is truth ? 

All this will seem to many people time misspent. They 
go to church because it is the custom, and all Christians 
315 believe it is the established religion. But there are hours, 
and they come to us all at some period of life or other, when 
the hand of Mystery seems to lie heavy on the soul—when 
some life-shock scatters existence, leaves it a blank and dreary 
waste henceforth forever, and there appears nothing of hope 
320 in all the expanse which stretches out, except that merciful 
gate of death which opens at the end—hours when the sense 
of misplaced or ill-requited affection, the feeling of personal 
worthlessness, the uncertainty and meanness of all human 
aims, and the doubt of all human goodness, unfix the soul 
325 from all its old moorings, and leave it drifting, drifting over 
the vast infinitude, with an awful sense of solitariness. Then 
the man whose faith rested on outward authority and not on 
inward life, will find it give way: the authority of the priest, 
the authority of the Church, or merely the authority of a 
330 document proved by miracles and backed by prophecy, the 
soul—conscious life hereafter—God—will be an awful desolatt 
Perhaps. Well, in such moments you doubt all—whether 
Christianity be true: whether Christ was man, or God, or a 
beautiful fable. You ask bitterly, like Pontius Pilate, What 
335 is truth? In such an hour what remains? I reply, 
Obedience. Leave those thoughts for the present. Act— 
be merciful and gentle—honest; force yourself to abound in 
little services; try to do good to others; be true to the duty 
that you know. That must be right, whatever else is uncer- 
340 tain. And by all the laws of the human heart, by the word 
of God, you shall not be left to doubt. Do that much of the 
will of God which is plain to you, and “You shall know of 
the doctrine, whether it be of God.” 


ROBERTSON: “OBEDIENCE 


15 


GENERAL NOTES 

I. Impression.—Does the sermon “grip” you by 
convincing your mind, arousing your feelings, or moving 
you to action ? 

If so, what factor in the sermon best accomplishes 
this result ? How ? 

II. Analysis.—In seeking the analysis of the sermon 
we observe: 

A. The bald announcement of points by I and II, 
especially at page n, line 208. This would not be pos¬ 
sible in the spoken sermon. Therefore Robertson must 
have used some such words as these: “We pass, 
therefore, to consider the condition on which knowl¬ 
edge of Christian truth is obtained.” In order to secure 
finish and smoothness should sermon points be an¬ 
nounced ? Suggest other formulas. 

B. At page 8, line 103, Robertson says that he will 
select three departments of doctrine for discussion. He 
then treats “speculative” and “practical” truths, but 
he does not take up a third department. 

How do you account for this ? 

Is it a serious omission ? 

C. In discussing II we find that he places the Arabic 
number 2 at page 12, line 258, but no preceding 1 ap¬ 
pears. 

Should this be supplied before “This universe is 
governed by laws” ? Page n, line 211. 

If not, where ? Or may it be omitted ? 

In the light of these omissions, is this a satisfactory 
plan ? Or is the work carelessly done ? 


16 PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 

III. Title.—What is meant by an “organ of knowl¬ 
edge” ? 

Is the reference here to Bacon’s Novum Organum (see 
p. 12, 11 . 239-41) ? What is the meaning of this philo¬ 
sophical term ? 

Is such a technical reference desirable in a sermon 
title ? If not, suggest another. 

IV. Text.—Observe the way in which the text is 
driven home by frequent repetition. In whole or in 
part it is used eleven times out of twenty-eight citations 
of Scripture. 

Is this desirable? May it be overdone? 

VI. Proposition.—Criticize this as a proposition: 
“There is a peculiar form of knowledge of truth called 
Christian knowledge, and the avenue to it is through 
obedience to the will of God.” 

Also this: “Act and you shall know.” 

XI. Illustrations.—For the reference at page 9, line 
142, see Wordsworth’s sonnet, “The World Is Too Much 
with Us,” Cambridge edition, page 349. 

In the picture of the man whose faith is battling 
with his doubt (p. 10, 11. 192-201), note the similar 
thought in Tennyson, In Memoriam, canto 124, iii, iv. 

XIV. Style.—Note that in the form in which this 
sermon comes to us we may expect occasional loose 
sentence structure. Roughness which would be war¬ 
ranted in notes of this kind could not be justified in a 
finished discourse. What examples of this do you find? 

On the other hand, are there finished and beautiful 
sentences? 


ROBERTSON: “OBEDIENCE 


17 


Note that this is a sermon preached on a special 
occasion before the meeting of court, as “election” 
sermons were formerly preached in New England and 
as appropriate discourses are given now on the occasions 
that call for them, such as Thanksgiving, Labor Sunday, 
etc. See page 5, lines 23-27. 

How is the thought in the sermon suited to the 
occasion? 

XV. General Observations.—Note the way in which 
Scripture references are used by Robertson and keep 
your report for comparative study when a similar usage 
is found in Newman, Study VII. 

In the concluding paragraph compare the counsel 
given with the personal testimony of Washington 
Gladden in his poem with the same title in Ultima 
Veritas , Boston: Pilgrim Press, 1912. 


SERMON STUDY II 

HORACE BUSHNELL, “UNCONSCIOUS INFLUENCE” 
INTRODUCTORY NOTES 

Horace Bushnell, American Congregationalist, was 
born in Litchfield, Connecticut, April 14,1802; graduated 
at Yale in 1827; taught school; worked on a newspaper; 
studied law; then prepared for the ministry, and was 
ordained in 1833 at Hartford, Connecticut. He main¬ 
tained a constant battle with ill health; was deeply inter¬ 
ested in outdoor life and landscape gardening; became 
not only a famous preacher, but also a leader in forward 
movements in theology. His civic influence is indicated 
by the fact that the park in which the capitol of Con¬ 
necticut is located is named for him. He died in 1876. 

Bushnell is often called “the preacher’s preacher.” 
It is said that his sermons are still found on the shelves 
of many of the manses in Scotland, where preaching is 
known and valued as hardly anywhere else. Bushnell 
always wrote out his sermons in full and read them. 
“There was a nervous insistence about his person, and a 
peculiar emphasizing swing of his right arm from the 
shoulder, which no one who has ever heard him is likely 
to forget. It seemed as if, with this gesture, he swung 
himself into his subject, and would fain carry others along 
with him.” This is from a description of Bushnell’s 
preaching when he was in the height of his power. The 
single phrase that interprets Bushnell’s constant message 
is “God in Christ.” 

18 


BUSHNELL: “UNCONSCIOUS INFLUENCE 


19 


The best biography for collateral reading is Horace 
Bushnell: Preacher and Theologian , by Theodore T. 
Munger, 1899. From this the following passage is 
quoted: 

Valuable as the sermons of Bushnell are to all who read 
them, they are of special value to the teacher of homiletics. 
As he studies them, searching for the art that lends such 
power to the thought, he notes first their structural quality,— 
built, not thrown together, nor gathered up here and there. 
He traces the intertwined rhetoric and logic, each tempering 
the other,—the reasoning little except clear statement and 
the rhetoric as convincing as the logic. He follows the wide 
sweep of the thought which yet never wanders from the theme. 
He notes the Platonic use of the world as furnishing images 
of spiritual realities; and a kindred habit of condensing his 
meaning into apothegms that imbed themselves in the 
memory. He shows how the preacher begins by almost 
sharing a doubt with his hearer and leaves him wondering 
why he ever doubted; how theology is transformed into 
religion which becomes the judge of theology; and how while 
the whole sermon is instinct with thought and sentiment, it 
is practical down even to homeliest details;—this and more 
the teacher will point out to his students, but he has not 
compassed the preacher, nor can he measure these discourses 
by any analysis. They have that which defies analysis,— 
genius, the creative faculty, the gift of direct vision. Some¬ 
thing in almost every sermon is to be set aside,—defective 
exegesis, fanciful interpretation of nature, provincial preju¬ 
dice, lingering dogma, over-emphasis,—but after this is done, 
there remains the body of the discourse, marked by that 
peculiar insight that sees straight into the nature of things, 
and by that gift of expression which can utter what it sees; 
each gift reinforcing the other [p. 284]. 


20 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


Keep this estimate in mind as you work with the 
following sermon and at the close of the study verify 
or modify Dr. Munger’s statement. 

The following discourse was preached and first 
published in London in 1846 and was noted and referred 
to by Robertson. It may be found in Sermons for the 
New Life, pages 186-205. 


BUSHNELL: “UNCONSCIOUS INFLUENCE” 


21 


UNCONSCIOUS INFLUENCE 

Then went in also that other disciple.—John 20:8 

In this slight touch or turn of history is opened to us, 
if we scan it closely, one of the most serious and fruitful 
chapters of Christian doctrine. Thus it is that men are ever 
touching unconsciously the springs of motion in each other; 
thus it is that one man without thought or intention or even 5 
a consciousness of the fact is ever leading some other after 
him. Little does Peter think, as he comes up where his 
doubting brother is looking into the sepulcher and goes 
straight in, after his peculiar manner, that he is drawing in 
his brother apostle after him. As little does John think, when 10 
he loses his misgivings and goes into the sepulcher after Peter, 
that he is following his brother. And just so, unawares to 
himself, is every man the whole race through laying hold of 
his fellow-man to lead him where otherwise he would not go. 

We overrun the boundaries of our personality—we flow 15 
together. A Peter leads a John, a John goes after a Peter, 
both of them unconscious of any influence exerted or received. 

And thus our life and conduct are ever propagating them¬ 
selves by a law of social contagion throughout the circles and 
times in which we live. 20 

There are then, you will perceive, two sorts of influence 
belonging to man: that which is active or voluntary, and 
that which is unconscious; that which we exert purposely or 
in the endeavor to sway another, as by teaching, by argument, 
by persuasion, by threatenings, by offers and promises, and 25 
that which flows out from us, unawares to ourselves, the same 
which Peter had over John when he led him into the sepulcher. 

The importance of our efforts to do good, that is, of our volun¬ 
tary influence and the sacred obligation we are under to 
exert ourselves in this way, are often and seriously insisted 30 
on. It is thus that Christianity has become in the present 
age a principle of so much greater activity than it has been 


22 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


for many centuries before; and we fervently hope that it will 
yet become far more active than it now is, nor cease to mul- 
35 tiply its industry till it is seen by all mankind to embody the 
beneficence and the living energy of Christ himself. 

But there needs to be produced at the same time, and 
partly for this object, a more thorough appreciation of the 
relative importance of that kind of influence or beneficence 
40 which is insensibly exerted. The tremendous weight and 
efficacy of this compared with the other, and the sacred 
responsibility laid upon us in regard to this are felt in no such 
degree or proportion as they should be; and the consequent 
loss we suffer in character as well as that which the church 
45 suffers in beauty and strength is incalculable. The more 
stress too needs to be laid on this subject of insensible influ¬ 
ence, because it is insensible; because it is out of mind and, 
when we seek to trace it, beyond a full discovery. 

If the doubt occur to any of you in the announcement 
50 of this subject, whether we are properly responsible for an 
influence which we exert insensibly; we are not, I reply, 
except so far as this influence flows directly from our char¬ 
acter and conduct. And this it does, even much more uni¬ 
formly than our active influence. In the latter we may fail 
55 of our end by a want of wisdom or skill, in which case we are 
still as meritorious in God’s sight as if we succeeded. So 
again we may really succeed and do great good by our active 
endeavors from motives altogether base and hypocritical, in 
which case we are as evil in God’s sight as if we had failed. 
60 But the influences we exert unconsciously will almost never 
disagree with our real character. They are honest influences, 
following our character as the shadow follows the sun. And 
therefore we are much more certainly responsible for them 
and their effects on the world. They go streaming from us 
65 in all directions, though in channels that we do not see, 
poisoning or healing around the roots of society and among 
the hidden wells of character. If good ourselves, they are 


BUSHNELL: “UNCONSCIOUS INFLUENCE 


23 


good; if bad, they are bad. And since they reflect so exactly 
our character, it is impossible to doubt our responsibility for 
their effects on the world. We must answer not only for 70 
what we do with a purpose, but for the influence we exert 
insensibly. To give you any just impressions of the breadth 
and seriousness of such a reckoning I know to be impossible. 

No mind can trace it. But it will be something gained if 
I am able to awaken only a suspicion of the vast extent and 75 
power of those influences which are ever flowing out unbid¬ 
den upon society from your life and character. 

In the prosecution of my design let me ask of you first 
of all to expel the common prejudice that there can be nothing 
of consequence in unconscious influences, because they make 80 
no report and fall on the world unobserved. Histories and 
biographies make little account of the power men exert insen¬ 
sibly over each other. They tell how men have led armies, 
established empires, enacted laws, gained causes, sung, rea¬ 
soned, and taught—always occupied in setting forth what 85 
they do with a purpose. But what they do without a pur¬ 
pose, the streams of influence that flow out from their persons 
unbidden on the world, they cannot trace or compute, and 
seldom ever mention. So also the public laws make men 
responsible only for what they do with a positive purpose, and 90 
take no account of the mischiefs or benefits that are com¬ 
municated by their noxious or healthful example. The same 
is true in the discipline of families, churches, and schools: 
they make no account of the things we do, except we will 
them. What we do insensibly passes for nothing, because 95 
no human government can trace such influences with suffi¬ 
cient certainty to make their authors responsible. 

But you must not conclude that influences of this kind 
are insignificant, because they are unnoticed and noiseless. 
How is it in the natural world ? Behind the mere show, the 100 
outward noise and stir of the world, nature always conceals 
her hand of control and the laws by which she rules. Who 


24 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


ever saw with the eye, for example, or heard with the ear 
the exertions of that tremendous astronomic force which 
105 every moment holds the compact of the physical universe 
together ? The lightning is in fact but a mere firefly spark 
in comparison; but because it glares on the clouds and 
thunders so terribly in the ear and rives the tree or the rock 
where it falls, many will be ready to think that it is a vastly 
no more potent agent than gravity. 

The Bible calls the good man’s life a light, and it is the 
nature of light to flow out spontaneously in all directions and 
fill the world unconsciously with its beams. So the Christian 
shines, it would say, not so much because he will as because 
115 he is a luminous object. Not that the active influence of 
Christians is made of no account in the figure, but only that 
this symbol of light has its propriety in the fact that their 
unconscious influence is the chief influence and has the pre¬ 
cedence in its power over the world. And yet there are many 
120 who will be ready to think that light is a very tame and 
feeble instrument because it is noiseless. An earthquake, for 
example, is to them a much more vigorous and effective 
agency. Hear how it comes thundering through the solid 
foundations of nature. It rocks a whole continent. The 
125 noblest works of man—cities, monuments, and temples—are 
in a moment leveled to the ground or swallowed down the 
opening gulfs of fire. Little do they think that the light of 
every morning, the soft and genial and silent light, is an agent 
many times more powerful. But let the light of the morning 
130 cease and return no more, let the hour of morning come and 
bring with it no dawn: the outcries of a horror-stricken 
world fill the air and make, as it were, the darkness audible. 
The beasts go wild and frantic at the loss of the sun. The 
vegetable growths turn pale and die. A chill creeps on and 
135 frosty winds begin to howl across the freezing earth. Colder 
and yet colder is the night. The vital blood of all creatures 
at length stops congealed. Down goes the frost toward the 


BUSHNELL: “UNCONSCIOUS INFLUENCE 


25 


earth’s center. The heart of the sea is frozen; nay, the earth¬ 
quakes are themselves frozen in under their fiery caverns. 

The very globe itself and all the fellow-planets that have 140 
lost their sun are become mere balls of ice, swinging silent in 
the darkness. Such is the light which revisits us in the 
silence of the morning. It makes no shock or scar. It 
would not wake an infant in his cradle. And yet it per¬ 
petually new creates the world, rescuing it each morning as 145 
a prey from night and chaos. So the Christian is a light, even 
“ the light of the world,” and we must not think that because 
he shines insensibly or silently as a mere luminous object he 
is therefore powerless. The greatest powers are ever those 
which lie back of the little stirs and commotions of nature; 150 
and I verily believe that the insensible influences of good 
men are as much more potent than what I have called their 
voluntary or active, as the great silent powers of nature are 
of greater consequence than her little disturbances and 
tumults. The law of human influence is deeper than many 155 
suspect, and they lose sight of it altogether. The outward 
endeavors made by good men or bad to sway others, they 
call their influence; whereas it is in fact but a fraction, and 
in most cases but a very small fraction, of the good or evil 
that flows out of their lives. Nay, I will even go further. 160 
How many persons do you meet, the insensible influence of 
whose manners and character is so decided as often to thwart 
their voluntary influence, so that, whatever they attempt to 
do in the way of controlling others, they are sure to carry 
the exact opposite of what they intend! And it will generally 165 
be found that, where men undertake by argument or persua¬ 
sion to exert a power in the face of qualities that make them 
odious or detestable or only not entitled to respect, their 
insensible influence will be too strong for them. The total 
effect of the life is then of a kind directly opposite to the 170 
voluntary endeavor; which of course does not add so much 
us a fraction to it. 


26 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


I call your attention next to the twofold powers of effect 
and expression by which man connects with his fellow-man. 
i7S If we distinguish man as a creature of language, and thus 
qualified to communicate himself to others, there are in him 
two sets or kinds of language, one which is voluntary in the 
use and one that is involuntary; that of speech in the literal 
sense, and that expression of the eye, the face, the look, the 
180 gait, the motion, the tone or cadence, which is sometimes 
called the natural language of the sentiments. This natural 
language, too, is greatly enlarged by the conduct of life, that 
which in business and society reveals the principles and spirit 
of men. Speech or voluntary language is a door to the soul 
185 that we may open or shut at will; the other is a door that 
stands open evermore, and reveals to others constantly and 
often very clearly the tempers, tastes, and motives of our 
hearts. Within, as we may represent, is character, charging 
the common reservoir of influence, and through these two- 
igo fold gates of the soul pouring itself out on the world. Out 
of one it flows at choice and whensoever we purpose to do 
good or evil to men. Out of the other it flows each moment 
as light from the sun, and propagates itself in all beholders. 

Then if we go over to others, that is, to the subjects of 
195 influence, we find every man endowed with two inlets of 
impression: the ear and the understanding for the reception 
of speech; and the sympathetic powers, the sensibilities or 
affections, for tinder to those sparks of emotion revealed by 
looks, tones, manners, and general conduct. And these 
200 sympathetic powers, though not immediately rational, are 
yet inlets open on all sides to the understanding and char¬ 
acter. They have a certain wonderful capacity to receive 
impressions and catch the meaning of signs, and propagate 
in us whatsoever falls into their passive molds from others. 
205 The impressions they receive do not come through verbal 
propositions, and are never received into verbal proposition 
it may be, in the mind, and therefore many think nothing 


BUSHNELL: “UNCONSCIOUS INFLUENCE” 27 


of them. But precisely on this account are they the more 
powerful, because it is as if one heart were thus going directly 
into another and carrying in its feelings with it. Beholding 
as in a glass the feelings of our neighbor, we are changed into 
the same image by the assimilating power of sensibility and 
fellow-feeling. Many have gone so far, and not without 
show at least of reason, as to maintain that the look or 
expression and even the very features of children are often 
changed by exclusive intercourse with nurses and attendants. 
Furthermore, if we carefully consider, we shall find it scarcely 
possible to doubt that simply to look on bad and malignant 
faces or those whose expressions have become infected by 
vice, to be with them and become familiarized to them, is 
enough permanently to affect the character of persons of 
mature age. I do not say that it must of necessity subvert 
their character, for the evil looked upon may never be loved 
or welcomed in practice; but it is something to have these 
bad images in the soul giving out their expressions there and 
diffusing their influence among the thoughts as long as we 
live. How dangerous a thing is it, for example, for a man to 
become accustomed to sights of cruelty! What man valuing 
the honor of his soul would not shrink from yielding himself 
to such an influence ? No more is it a thing of indifference 
to become accustomed to look on the manners, and receive 
the bad expression of any kind of sin. 

The door of involuntary communication, I have said, 
is always open. Of course we are communicating ourselves 
in this way to others at every moment of our intercourse or 
presence with them. But how very seldom, in comparison, 
do we undertake by means of speech to influence others! 
Even the best Christian, one who most improves his oppor¬ 
tunities to do good, attempts but seldom to sway another by 
voluntary influence, whereas he is all the while shining as a 
luminous object unawares, and communicating of his heart 
to the world. 


210 

215 

220 

225 

23O 

235 

240 


28 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


But there is yet another view of this double line of com¬ 
munication which man has with his fellow-men which is more 
245 general and displays the import of the truth yet more con¬ 
vincingly. It is by one of these modes of communication 
that we are constituted members of voluntary society, and 
by the other, parts of a general mass or members of invol¬ 
untary society. You are all in a certain view individuals, 
250 and separate as persons from each other; you are also in a 
certain other view parts of a common body, as truly as the 
parts of a stone. Thus if you ask how it is that you and all 
men came without your consent to exist in society, to be 
within its power, to be under its laws, the answer is that 
255 while you are a man you are also a fractional element of a 
larger and more comprehensive being called society—be it 
the family, the church, the state. In a certain department 
of your nature it is open; its sympathies and feelings are 
open. On this open side you all adhere together as parts of 
260 a larger nature in which there is a common circulation of 
want, impulse, and law. Being thus made common to each 
other unwittingly, you become one mass, one consolidated 
social body animated by one life. And observe how far this 
involuntary communication and sympathy between the 
265 members of a state or family is sovereign over their char¬ 
acter. It always results in what we call the national or 
family spirit; for there is a spirit peculiar to every state and 
family in the world. Sometimes too this national or family 
spirit takes a religious or an irreligious character and appears 
270 almost to absorb the religious self-government of individuals. 
What was the national spirit of France, for example, at a 
certain time but a spirit of infidelity ? What is the religious 
spirit of Spain at this moment [1846] but a spirit of bigotry, 
quite as wide of Christianity and destructive to character as 
275 the spirit of falsehood? What is the family spirit in many 
a house but the spirit of gain, or pleasure, or appetite, in 
which everything that is warm, dignified, genial, and good 


BUSHNELL: “UNCONSCIOUS INFLUENCE” 


29 


in religion is visibly absent? Sometimes you will almost 
fancy that you see the shapes of money in the eyes of the 
children. So it is that we are led on by nations, as it were, 280 
to a good or bad immortality. Far down in the secret 
foundations of life and society there lie concealed great laws 
and channels of influence which make the race common to 
each other in all the main departments or divisions of the 
social mass—laws which often escape our notice altogether, 285 
but which are to society as gravity to the general system of 
God’s works. 

But these are general considerations and more fit, per¬ 
haps, to give you a rational conception of the modes of 
influence and their relative power, than to verify that con- 290 
ception or establish its truth. I now proceed to add there¬ 
fore some miscellaneous proofs of a more particular nature. 

And I mention, first of all, the instinct of imitation in 
children. We begin our mortal experience, not with acts 
grounded in judgment or reason, or with ideas received 295 
through language, but by simple imitation, and under the 
guidance of this we lay our foundations. The child looks 
and listens, and whatsoever tone of feeling or manner of 
conduct is displayed around him, sinks into his plastic, 
passive soul and becomes a mold of his being ever after. 300 
The very handling of the nursery is significant, and the 
petulance, the passion, the gentleness, the tranquillity indi¬ 
cated by it are all reproduced in the child. His soul is a 
purely receptive nature, and that for a considerable period 
without choice or selection. A little farther on he begins 305 
voluntarily to copy everything he sees. Voice, manner, 
gait, everything which the eye sees, the mimic instinct delights 
to act over. And thus we have a whole generation of future 
men receiving from us their very beginnings and the deepest 
impulses of their life and immortality. They watch us every 31.0 
moment in the family, before the hearth and at the table; 
and when we are meaning them no good or evil, when we 


30 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


are conscious of exerting no influence over them, they are 
drawing from us impressions and molds of habit which, if 
3is wrong, no heavenly discipline can wholly remove; or if right, 
no bad associations can utterly dissipate. Now it may be 
doubted, I think, whether in all the active influence of our 
lives we do as much to shape the destiny of our fellow-men 
as we do in this single article of unconscious influence over 
320 children. 

Still farther on, respect for others takes the place of 
imitation. We naturally desire the approbation or good 
opinion of others. You see the strength of this feeling in the 
matter of fashion. How few persons have the nerve to 
325 resist a fashion! We have fashions too in literature and in 
worship and in moral and religious doctrine, almost equally 
powerful. How many will violate the best rules of society 
because it is the practice of their circle! How many reject 
Christ because of friends or acquaintances who have no sus- 
330 picion of the influence they exert, and will not have till the 
last day shows them what they have done! Every good man 
has thus a power in his person more mighty than his words 
and arguments, a power others feel when he little suspects it. 
Every bad man too has a fund of poison in his character 
335 which is tainting those around him when it is not in his 
thoughts to do them an injury. He is read and understood. 
His sensual tastes and habits, his unbelieving spirit, his 
suppressed leer at religion have all a power and take hold of 
the hearts of others, whether he will have it so or not. 

340 Again, how well understood is it that the most active 
feelings and impulses of mankind are contagious! How quick 
enthusiasm of any sort is to kindle and how rapidly it catches 
from one to another, till a nation blazes in the flame! In the 
case of the Crusades you have an example where the personal 
345 enthusiasm of a few men put all the states of Europe in 
motion. Fanaticism is almost equally contagious. Fear 
and superstition always infect the mind of the circle in which 


BUSIINELL: “UNCONSCIOUS INFLUENCE 


3i 


they are manifested. The spirit of war generally becomes an 
epidemic of madness when once it has got possession of a 
few minds. The spirit of party is propagated by a similar 
manner. How any slight operation in the market may spread 
like a fire, if successful, till trade runs wild in a general infatua¬ 
tion, is well known. Now in all these examples the effect is 
produced, not by active endeavor to carry influence, but 
mostly by that insensible propagation which follows when a 
flame of any kind is once kindled. 

Is it also true, you may ask, that the religious spirit 
propagates itself or tends to propagate itself in the same way ? 
I see no reason to question that it does. Nor does anything 
in the doctrine of spiritual influences, when rightly under¬ 
stood, forbid the supposition. For spiritual influences are 
never separated from the laws of thought in the individual 
and the laws of feeling and influence in society. If too every 
disciple is to be an “epistle known and read of all men,” 
what shall we expect but that all men will be somehow 
affected by the reading ? Or if he is to be a light in the world, 
what shall we look for but that others seeing his good works 
shall glorify God on his account ? How often is it seen too 
as a fact of observation that one or a few good men kindle 
at length a holy fire in the community in which they live, 
and become the leaven of a general reformation! Such men 
give a more vivid proof in their persons of the reality of 
religious faith than any words or arguments could yield. 
They are active; they endeavor of course to exert a good 
voluntary influence; but still their chief power lies in their 
holiness and in the sense they produce in others of their close 
relation to God. 

It now remains to exhibit the very important fact that 
where the direct or active influence of men is supposed to be 
great, even this is due in a principal degree to that insensible 
influence by which their arguments, reproofs, and persuasions 
are secretly invigorated. It is not mere words which turn 


350 

355 

360 

365 

370 

375 

380 


3 2 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


men; it is the heart mounting uncalled into the expression 
of the features; it is the eye illuminated by reason, the look 
385 beaming with goodness; it is the tone of the voice, that 
instrument of the soul which changes quality with such amaz¬ 
ing facility and gives out in the soft, the tender, the tremu¬ 
lous, the firm, every shade of emotion and character. And 
so much is there in this that the moral stature and character 
390 of the man that speaks are likely to be well represented 
in his manner. If he is a stranger, his way will inspire 
confidence and attract good will. His virtues will be seen, 
as it were, gathering round him to minister words and forms 
of thought, and their voices will be heard in the fall of his 
395 cadences. And the same is true of bad men, or of men who 
have nothing in their character corresponding to what they 
attempt to do. If without heart or interest you attempt to 
move another, the involuntary man tells what you are doing 
in a hundred ways at once. A hypocrite endeavoring to exert 
400 a good influence only tries to convey by words what the lying 
look and the faithless affectation or dry exaggeration of his 
manner perpetually resists. We have it for a fashion to 
attribute great or even prodigious results to the voluntary 
efforts and labors of men. Whatever they effect is commonly 
405 referred to nothing but the immediate power of what they 
do. Let us take an example like that of Paul, and analyze it. 
Paul was a man of great fervor and enthusiasm. He com¬ 
bined withal more of what is lofty and morally commanding 
in his character than most of the very distinguished men of 
410 the world. Having this for his natural character, and his 
natural character exalted and made luminous by Christian 
faith and the manifest indwelling of God, he had of course an 
almost superhuman sway over others. Doubtless he was 
intelligent, strong in argument, eloquent, active to the utmost 
415 of his powers, but still he moved the world more by what he 
was than by what he did. The grandeur and spiritual splen¬ 
dor of his character were ever adding to his active efforts an 


BUSHNELL: “UNCONSCIOUS INFLUENCE” 


33 


element of silent power, which was the real and chief cause 
of their efficacy. He convinced, subdued, inspired, and led 
because of the half divine authority which appeared in his 
conduct and his glowing spirit. He fought the good fight 
because he kept the faith and filled his powerful nature with 
influences drawn from higher worlds. 

And here I must conduct you to a yet higher example, 
even that of the Son of God, the light of the world. Men dis¬ 
like to be swayed by direct, voluntary influence. They are 
jealous of such control and are therefore best approached by 
conduct and feeling and the authority of simple worth, which 
seem to make no purposed onset. If goodness appears, they 
welcome its celestial smile; if heaven descends to encircle 
them, they yield to its sweetness; if truth appears in the life, 
they honor it with a secret homage; if personal majesty and 
glory appear, they bow with reverence and acknowledge with 
shame their own vileness. Now it is on this side of human 
nature that Christ visits us, preparing just that kind of 
influence which the spirit of truth may wield with the most 
persuasive and subduing effect. It is the grandeur of his 
character which constitutes the chief power of his ministry, 
not his miracles or teachings apart from his character. 
Miracles were useful at the time to arrest attention, and his 
doctrine is useful at all times as the highest revelation of 
truth possible in speech; but the greatest truth of the gospel, 
notwithstanding, is Christ himself—a human body become 
the organ of the divine nature and revealing under the 
conditions of an earthly life the glory of God! The Scripture 
writers have much to say in this connection of the image of 
God; and an image, you know, is that which simply repre¬ 
sents, not that which acts or reasons or persuades. Now it 
is this image of God which makes the center, the sun itself of 
the gospel. The journeyings, teachings, miracles, and suffer¬ 
ings of Christ all had their use in bringing out this image or, 
what is the same, in making conspicuous the character and 


420 

425 

430 

435 

440 

445 

450 


34 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


feelings of God both toward sinners and toward sin. And 
here is the power of Christ—it is what of God’s beauty, love, 
455 truth, and justice shines through him. It is the influence 
which flows unconsciously and spontaneously out of Christ 
as the friend of man, the light of the world, the glory of 
the Father made visible. And some have gone so far as to 
conjecture that God made the human person originally with 
460 a view to its becoming the organ or vehicle by which he might 
reveal his communicable attributes to other worlds. Christ, 
they believe, came to inhabit this organ that he might 
execute a purpose so sublime. The human person is con¬ 
stituted, they say, to be a mirror of God; and God being 
465 imaged in that mirror as in Christ, is held up to the view of 
this and other worlds. It certainly is to the view of this 
world; and if the divine nature can use this organ so effec¬ 
tively to express itself unto us, if it can bring itself through 
the looks, tones, motions, and conduct of a human person 
470 more close to our sympathies than by any other means, how 
can we think that an organ so communicative, inhabited by 
us, is not always breathing our spirit and transferring our 
image insensibly to others ? 

I have protracted the argument on this subject beyond 
475 what I could have wished, but I cannot dismiss it without 
suggesting a few thoughts necessary to its complete practical 
effect. 

One very obvious and serious inference from it, and the 
first which I will name, is that it is impossible to live in this 
480 world and escape responsibility. It is not they alone, as 
you have seen, who are trying purposely to convert or cor¬ 
rupt others who exert an influence; you cannot live without 
exerting influence. The doors of your soul are open on others, 
and theirs on you. You inhabit a house which is well nigh 
485 transparent; and what you are within, you are ever showing 
yourself to be without, by signs that have no ambiguous 
expression. If you had the seeds of a pestilence in your 


BUSHNELL: “UNCONSCIOUS INFLUENCE” 35 


body, you would not have a more active contagion than you 
have in your tempers, tastes, and principles. Simply to be 
in this world, whatever you are, is to exert an influence—an 490 
influence, too, compared with which mere language and 
persuasion are feeble. You say that you mean well; at 
least you think you mean to injure no one. Do you injure 
no one ? Is your example harmless ? Is it ever on the side 
of God and duty ? You cannot reasonably doubt that others 495 
are continually receiving impressions from your. character. 

As little can you doubt that you must answer for these 
impressions. If the influence you exert is unconsciously 
exerted, then it is only the most sincere, the truest expression 
of your character. And for what can you be held responsible, 500 
if not for this? Do not deceive yourselves in the thought 
that you are at least doing no injury and are therefore living 
without responsibility; first make it sure that you are not 
every hour infusing moral death insensibily into your chil¬ 
dren, wives, husbands, friends, and acquaintances. By a 505 
mere look or glance, it is not unlikely, you are conveying the 
influence that shall turn the scale of someone’s immortality. 
Dismiss therefore the thought that you are living without 
responsibility; that is impossible. Better is it frankly to 
admit the truth; and if you will risk the influence of a char- 51c 
acter unsanctified by duty and religion, prepare to meet your 
reckoning manfully and receive the just recompense of reward. 

The true philosophy or method of doing good is also 
here explained. It is, first of all and principally, to be good— 
to have a character that will of itself communicate good. 515 
There must and will be active effort where there is goodness 
of principle; but the latter we should hold to be the prin¬ 
cipal thing, the root and life of all. Whether it is a mistake 
more sad or more ridiculous to make mere stir synonymous 
with doing good, we need not inquire; enough to be sure 520 
that one who has taken up such a notion of doing good is 
for that reason a nuisance to the church. The Christian is 


3^ 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


called a light, not lightning. In order to act with effect on 
others he must walk in the Spirit and thus become the image 
525 of goodness: he must be so akin to God and so filled with his 
dispositions that he shall seem to surround himself with a 
hallowed atmosphere. It is folly to endeavor to make our¬ 
selves shine before we are luminous. If the sun without his 
beams should talk to the planets and argue with them till 
530 the final day, it would not make them shine; there must be 
light in the sun itself, and then they will shine of course. 
And this, my brethren, is what God intends for you all. It 
is the great idea of his gospel and the work of his spirit to 
make you lights in the world. His greatest joy is to give you 
535 character, to beautify your example, to exalt your principles 
and make you each the depository of his own almighty grace. 
But in order to do this, something is necessary on your part—a 
full surrender of your mind to duty and to God, and a per¬ 
petual desire of this spiritual intimacy; having this, having 
540 a participation thus of the goodness of God you will as 
naturally communicate good as the sun communicates his 
beams. 

Our doctrine of unconscious and undesigning influence 
shows how it is also that the preaching of Christ is often so 
545 unfruitful, and especially in times of spiritual coldness. It 
is not because truth ceases to be truth, nor of necessity 
because it is preached in a less vivid manner, but because 
there are so many influences preaching against the preacher. 
He is one, the people are many; his attempt to convince and 
550 persuade is a voluntary influence; their lives on the other 
hand, and especially the lives of those who profess what is 
better, are so many unconscious influences ever streaming 
forth upon the people and back and forth between each other. 
He preaches the truth, and they with one consent are preach- 
555 mg the truth down; and how can he prevail against so many 
and by a kind of influence so unequal ? When the people of 
God are glowing with spiritual devotion to him and with 


BUSHNELL: “UNCONSCIOUS INFLUENCE” 37 


love to men, the case is different; then they are all preaching 
with the preacher and making an atmosphere of warmth for 
his words to fall in; great is the company of them that pub- 560 
lish the truth, and proportionally great its power. Shall I 
say more? Have you not already felt, my brethren, the 
application to which I would bring you ? We do not exon¬ 
erate ourselves; we do not claim to be nearer to God or holier 
than you; but, ah, you know not how easy it is to make a 565 
winter about us, or how cold it feels! Our endeavor is to 
preach the truth of Christ and his Cross as clearly and as 
forcibly as we can. Sometimes it has a visible effect and 
we are filled with joy; sometimes it has no effect, and then 
we struggle on as we must, but under great oppression. 570 
Have we none among you that preach against us in your 
lives ? If we show you the light of God’s truth, does it never 
fall on banks of ice; which if the light shines through, the 
crystal masses are yet as cold as before ? We do not accuse 
you: that we leave to God and to those who may rise up in 575 
the last day to testify against you. If they shall come out 
of your own families; if they are the children that wear your 
names, the husband or wife of your affections; if they declare 
that you by your example kept them away from Christ’s 
truth and mercy, we may have accusations to meet of our 580 
own and we leave you to acquit yourselves as best you may. 

I only warn you here of the guilt which our Lord Jesus Christ 
will impute to them that hinder his gospel. 


38 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


GENERAL NOTES 

I. Impression.—For purposes of comparison, read 
Charles Reynolds Brown, Yale Talks , 1919, pages 84-96, 
“Unconscious Influence/’ from Acts 5:15. Mark the 
difference between a formal sermon and a chapel talk. 
Which is the better text for the subject? 

II. Analysis.—Bushnell clearly announces the plan. 
At page 23, lines 78-81, he indicates the first point 
of the main discussion. At page 29, lines 288-92, he 
announces a change from “general considerations” to 
“miscellaneous proofs of a more particular nature.” 
The “ argument” by general and particular discussion is 
thus carried to page 34, lines 474-77, at which point “a 
few thoughts necessary to its complete practical effect” 
are suggested. 

Note this method as standing between the detailed 
announcement of the steps of the discussion at one time, 
as in Spurgeon (p. 125, 11 . 74-80), and complete silence 
as to the steps intended in the discussion, as in Ainsworth. 
Which is the best? 

III. Title.—Is there any value in the sense of surprise 
that must instantly be felt in the use of the adjective 
unconscious in relation to influence ? 

IV. Text.—Bushnell was a master in using texts. 

One of the most noticeable things about the sermons 

is the relation between text and title. When they have 
been announced, he has already half preached the sermon. 
The title is not a happy hint nor a catching phrase, but 
is the subject itself in little. He starts with a full con¬ 
ception of his discourse, not working his way into it, but 
working it out, having already gone through it. Hence it is 


BUSHNELL: “UNCONSCIOUS INFLUENCE 


39 


not a tentative groping after the truth, but the truth itself, 
in brief but clear proportions. The title of the first discourse 
in “Sermons for the New Life”—“Every Man’s Life a 
Plan of God”—contains his whole thought on the subject.— 
Munger, Horace Bushnell, p. 280. 

Munger speaks of this “ allusive text.” What does 
he mean? Is this a desirable quality in texts? 

V. Subject.—Although not formally announced, 
Bushnell regards the subject as clearly in the minds of his 
hearers, “If any doubt occur to any of you in the 
announcement of this subject” (p. 22, 1. 51). And it 
is involved in such sentences as “influence or beneficence 
which is insensibly exerted” (p. 22, 1. 39). 

Would it have been better to have made a formal 
announcement? 

VI. Proposition.—No proposition is formally an¬ 
nounced. It is involved in such sentences as the 
following: 

Page 21, lines 3-8: Omit “Thus it is that” and use 
the remainder. 

Page 21, lines 18-20: Omit “And thus.” 

Page 21, lines 21-27: Condense this. 

Page 23, lines 74-77: Frame a proposition using 
the words in such order as this, “Those influences which 
are ever flowing out unbidden upon society from your 
life and character are vast and powerful.” 

Using the four suggestions above, state a proposition 
which seems to you clear and concise. 

Is it better to state a proposition definitely, or to 
have one involved in the introduction as it is here? 

X. Sources.—Bushnell was the author of Christian 
Nurture , one of thee arliest and epoch-making books in 


40 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


religious education. Note in this sermon the range and 
accuracy of his insight into the spiritual nature of man, 
his mastery of the religious problems of the parish, his 
estimate of the worth of the church. 

XI. Illustrations.—Study the similes in this sermon 
carefully. Note the use of the figure of light (p. 24, 
1 . 129, to p. 25, 1 . 142). Hold this for comparison with 
Brooks (p. 44, 11 . 46-51). 

XII. Transitions.—This sermon is excellently adapted 
for the study of the rhetorical devices by which a skilful 
master of English is able to carry his hearers from point 
to point by the use of a “backward-looking” term of 
some kind. Note the use of “but,” “again,” “also,” 
“then.” Make the list carefully that it may be com¬ 
pared with a similar study in Beecher. 


SERMON STUDY III 
BROOKS, “THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD” 
INTRODUCTORY NOTES 

Phillips Brooks, American, Protestant Episcopal, was 
born in Boston, December 13, 1835, of Puritan heritage, 
blending in his own the names of two of New England’s 
oldest and most distinguished families. He graduated at 
Harvard in 1855; studied at the Protestant Episcopal 
Theological School, Alexandria, Virginia; became rector 
in Philadelphia; then was called to Trinity Church, 
Boston, in 1869; was consecrated Bishop of Massa¬ 
chusetts in 1891; died January 23, 1893. 

Phillips Brooks was pre-eminently a preacher. His 
intellectual gifts and commanding personality gave him 
a place of outstanding leadership in the American pulpit. 
His printed sermons, while necessarily lacking in this 
form the charm and force of spoken messages, are among 
the classics of homiletical literature. He was a man of 
the broadest human sympathies and his power over men 
was unsurpassed. His preaching was summed up in the 
doctrines of the Incarnation and the brotherhood of 
man. He wrote many poems and hymns, among which 
the most popular and enduring is “O Little Town of 
Bethlehem.” His Lectures on Preaching is one of the 
best in the series of the Lyman Beecher Lectures at Yale. 
The sermon which we study is taken from the volume 
also entitled The Light of the World , published in New 
York, by E. P. Dutton & Co., and is printed here by 
their kind permission. 


41 


42 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


The best biographies are: Life and Letters of Phillips 
Brooks by Alexander V. G. Allen, 1900, three volumes, 
and Phillips Brooks by Alexander V. G. Allen, 1907, one 
volume. The latter is doubtless the better for the stu¬ 
dent; it contains all that is essential in the larger work. 

During the height of his power Phillips Brooks regu¬ 
larly wrote one sermon each week; and he gave all 
the best part of every morning to the work. He was 
generally sure of his text by Monday. On Tuesday and 
Wednesday mornings he brought together all the 
material that he could find in the form of notes either 
made at previous times or freshly wrought out. On 
Wednesday morning he wrote out the plan of the sermon. 
He took a sheet of sermon paper about 7X9 inches in 
size, folded it once, thus making four pages. These he 
filled out fully in all cases with his outline. He wrote in a 
fine and legible hand, like the Puritan preachers. When 
finished the outline alone contained about a thousand 
words. The paragraphs in this plan were studied with 
great care. Against each paragraph he placed a figure 
showing the number of pages that the paragraph would 
occupy in expanded form in the manuscript. He wrote 
thirty pages in each sermon. If the number of pages 
assigned to the paragraphs did not equal this he went 
over them carefully, cutting or expanding to meet the 
space at his command. It seems strange that such an 
apparently mechanical program as this, which was so 
slavishly followed, should not have limited the wonder¬ 
fully vital and inspiring work which Phillips Brooks did 
in the pulpit. It shows that the man is always more than 
his method and that each preacher must do that which 
is in accord with his own temper. 


BROOKS: “THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD 


43 


THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD 

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the Light of the World; 
he that followeth me shall not walk in Darkness, but shall have the Light 
of Life.—John 8:12. 

Sometimes Jesus gathers his work and nature up in one 
descriptive word, and offers it, as it were out of a wide-open 
hand, complete to His disciples. In such a word all the 
details of His relation to the soul and to the world are com¬ 
prehensively included. As the disciple listens and receives 5 
it, he feels all his fragmentary and scattered experiences 
drawing together and rounding into unity. As, having heard 
it, he carries it forth with him into his life, he finds all future 
experiences claiming their places within it, and getting their 
meaning from it. Such words of Jesus are like spheres of 10 
crystal into which the world is gathered, and where the past 
and future, the small and great, may all be read. 

It seems to me as if there were days on which we wanted 
to set one of these comprehensive words of Christ before our 
eyes and study it. There are days when we must give our- 15 
selves to some particular detail of Christian truth or conduct. 
There are other days when we are faced by the question of 
the whole meaning of the Christian faith and its relation to 
the great world of life. Vague and perplexed the soul is to 
which its faith does not come with distinct and special 20 
touches, pressing directly on every movement of its life. 

But pure and petty is the soul which has no large conception 
of its faith, always abiding around and enfolding its details 
and giving them the dignity and unity they need. 

One of these comprehensive words of Jesus is our text this 25 
morning. 

I want to ask you then to think with me what Jesus 
means when he declares himself to be the “Light of the 
World” or the “Light of Life.” The words come down to 
us out of the old Hebrew temple where he spoke them first. 30 
They pierce into the center of our modern life. Nay, they 


44 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


have done much to make our modern life, and to make it 
different from the old Hebrew temple where they were spoken 
first. It will be good indeed if we can feel something of the 
35 power that is in them, and understand how clear is the con¬ 
ception of Life which they include, how far our present Chris¬ 
tianity is an embodiment of that conception, how far it fails 
of it, how certain it is in being ever truer and truer to that 
conception that the faith of Christ must come to be the 
40 Master of the soul and of the world. 

We may begin, then, by considering what would be the 
idea of Christ and his relation to the world which we should 
get if this were all we knew of him—if he as yet had told 
us nothing of himself but what is wrapped up in these rich 
45 and simple words, “I am the Light of the World,” “I am 
the Light of Life.” They send us instantly abroad into the 
world of Nature. They set us on the hill-top watching the 
sunrise as it fills the east with glory. They show us the great 
plain flooded and beaten and quivering with the noonday 
50 sun. They hush and elevate us with the mystery and sweet¬ 
ness and suggestiveness of the evening’s glow. There could 
be no image so abundant in its meaning; no fact plucked 
from the world of Nature could have such vast variety of 
truth to tell; and yet one meaning shines out from the depth 
55 of the figure and irradiates all its messages. They all are 
true by its truth. What is that meaning ? It is the essential 
richness and possibility of the world and its essential belonging 
to the sun. Light may be great and glorious in itself. The 
sun may be tumultuous with fiery splendor; the atmosphere 
60 may roll in billows of glory for its million miles; but light 
as related to earth has its significance in the earth’s possibili¬ 
ties. The sun, as the world’s sun, is nothing without the 
world, on which it shines, and whose essential character and 
glory it displays. 

65 Do you see what I mean ? When the sun rose this morn¬ 
ing it found the world here. It did not make the world. It 


BROOKS: “THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD 


45 


did not fling forth on its earliest ray this solid globe, which 
was not and would not have been but for the sun’s rising. 
What did it do ? It found the world in darkness, torpid 
and heavy and asleep; with powers all wrapped up in slug- 70 
gishness; with life that was hardly better or more alive than 
death. The sun found this great sleeping world and woke it. 

It bade it be itself. It quickened every slow and sluggish 
faculty. It called to the dull streams, and said, “Be quick”; 
to the dull birds and bade them sing; to the dull fields and 75 
made them grow; to the dull men and bade them talk and 
think and work. It flashed electric invitation to the whole 
mass of sleeping power which really was the world, and sum¬ 
moned it to action. It did not make the world. It did not 
sweep a dead world off and set a live world in its place. It did 80 
not start another set of processes unlike those which had been 
sluggishly moving in the darkness. It poured strength into 
the essential processes which belonged to the very nature of 
the earth which it illuminated. It glorified, intensified, ful¬ 
filled the earth; so that with the sun’s work incomplete, with 85 
part of the earth illuminated and the rest lying in the dark¬ 
ness still, we can most easily conceive of the dark region 
looking in its half-life drowsily over to the region which was 
flooded with light, and saying, “There, there is the true earth! 
That is the real planet. In light and not in darkness the 90 
earth truly is itself.” 

That is the Parable of the Light. And now it seems to 
me to be of all importance to remember and assert all that 
to be distinctly a true parable of Christ. He says it is: “I 
am the Light of the World.” A thousand things that means. 95 
A thousand subtle, mystic miracles of deep and intricate 
relationship between Christ and humanity must be enfolded 
in those words; but over and behind and within all other 
meanings, it means this—the essential richness and possibil¬ 
ity of humanity and its essential belonging to Divinity. 100 
Christ is unspeakably great and glorious in Himself. The 


46 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACPIING 


glory which He had with His Father “before the world was,” 
of that we can only meditate and wonder; but the glory which 
he has had since the world was, the glory which He has had in 
105 relation to the world, is all bound up with the world’s possi¬ 
bilities, has all consisted in the utterance and revelation and 
fulfilment of capacities which were in the very nature of the 
world on which his light has shone. 

Do you see what I mean ? Christ rises on a soul. Christ 
no rises on the world. I speak in crude and superficial language. 
For the moment I make no account of the deep and sacred 
truth—the truth which alone is finally and absolutely true— 
that Christ has always been with every soul and all the world. 
I talk in crude and superficial words, and say Christ comes to 
115 any soul or to the world. What is it that happens? If the 
figure of the Light is true, Christ when He comes finds the soul 
or the world really existent, really having within itself its 
holiest capabilities, really moving, though dimly and darkly, 
in spite of its hindrances, in its true directions; and what He 
120 does for it is to quicken it through and through, to sound the 
bugle of its true life in its ears, to make it feel the nobleness 
of movements which have seemed to it ignoble, the hopeful¬ 
ness of impulses which have seemed hopeless, to bid it be 
itself. The little lives which do in little ways that which the 
125 life of Jesus does completely, the noble characters of which 
we think we have the right to say that they are the fights of 
human history, this is true also of them. They reveal and 
they inspire. The worthless becomes full of worth, the insig¬ 
nificant becomes full of meaning at their touch. They faintly 
[30 catch the feeble reflection of His fife who is the true Light 
of the World, the real illumination and inspiration of 
humanity. 

But metaphors bewilder and embarrass us when once we 
have caught their general meaning, and they begin to tempt 
135 us to follow them out into details into which they were not 
meant to lead us. Let us then leave the figure, and try to 


BROOKS: “THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD” 


47 


grasp the truth in its complete simplicity and see what some 
of its applications are. The truth is that every higher life 
to which man comes, and especially the highest life in Christ, 
is in the true line of man’s humanity; there is no transporta- 140 
tion to a foreign region. There is the quickening and ful¬ 
filling of what man by the very essence of his nature is. The 
more man becomes irradiated with Divinity, the more, not 
the less, truly he is man. The fullest Christian experience 
is simply the fullest life. To enter into it therefore is no wise 145 
strange. The wonder and the unnaturalness is that any 
child of God should live outside of it, and so in all his life 
should never be himself. 

When I repeat such truths they seem self-evident. No 
man, I think, denies them; and yet I feel the absence of their 150 
power all through men’s struggles for the Christian life. A 
sense of foreignness and unnaturalness and strangeness lies 
like a fog across the entrance of the divine country; a certain 
wonder whether I, a man, have any business there; an 
unreality about it all; a break and gulf between what the 155 
world is and what we know it ought to be—all these elements 
in the obscurity, the feebleness, the vague remoteness, of 
religion. 

And yet how clear the Bible is about it all! How clear 
Christ is! It is redemption and fulfilment which he comes to 160 
bring to man. Those are his words. There is a true human¬ 
ity which is to be restored, and all those unattained possibili¬ 
ties are to be filled out. There is no human affection, of 
fatherhood, brotherhood, childhood, which is not capable of 
expressing divine relations. Man is a child of God, for whom 165 
his Father’s house is waiting. The whole creation is groaning 
and travailing till man shall be complete. Christ comes not 
to destroy but to fulfil. What is the spirit of such words as 
those? Is it not all a claiming of man through all his life 
for God ? Is it not an assertion that just so far as he is not 170 
God’s he is not truly man? Is it not a declaration that 


48 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


whatever he does in his true human nature, undistorted, 
unperverted, is divinely done, and therefore that the divine 
perfection of his life will be in the direction which these 
i7S efforts of his nature indicate and prophesy ? 

I bid you to think whether to clearly believe this would 
not make the world more full of courage and of hope. If you 
could thoroughly believe that the divine life to which you 
were called was the completion, and not the abrogation and 
180 surrender, of your humanity, would you not be more strong 
and eager in your entrance on it? If below the superficial 
currents which so tremendously draw us away from righteous¬ 
ness and truth we always felt the tug and majestic pressure 
of the profoundest currents setting toward righteousness and 
185 truth, would not our souls be stronger? Shall we not think 
that? Shall we leave it to doubting lips to tell about the 
‘‘tendency which makes for righteousness”? Shall we not 
tell of it—we who believe in Christ, who made in His very 
being the declaration of the nativeness of righteousness to 
190 man, who bade all generations see in Him how the Son of 
Man is the Son of God in the foundation and intention of 
His life ? 

Let us see how all this is true in various applications. 
Apply it first to the standards of character. We talk of 
195 Christian character as if it were some separate and special 
thing unattempted, unsuggested by the human soul until it 
became aware of Christ. There would come a great flood of 
light and reality into it all if we knew thoroughly that the 
Christian character is nothing but the completed human 
200 character. The Christian is nothing but the true man. 
Nothing but the true man, do I say ? As if that were a little 
thing! As if man, with any inflow of divinity, could be, 
could wish to be anything more or different from man! 
But we imagine a certain vague array of qualities which are 
205 to belong to the Christian life which are not the intrinsic 
human qualities; and so our Christian type becomes unreal, 


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and our human type loses its dignity and greatness. Human 
courage, human patience, human trustiness, human humil¬ 
ity—these filled with the fire of God make the graces of the 
Christian life. We are still haunted by the false old distinc¬ 
tion of the natural virtues and the Christian graces. The 
Christian graces are nothing but the natural virtues held up 
into the light of Christ. They are made of the same stuff; 
they are lifted along the same lines; but they have found 
their pinnacle. They have caught their illumination which 
their souls desire. Manliness has not been changed into 
Godliness; it has fulfilled itself in Godliness. 

As soon as we understand all this, then what a great, 
clear thing salvation becomes. Its one idea is health. Not 
rescue from suffering, not plucking out of fire, not deporta¬ 
tion to some strange, beautiful region where the winds blow 
with other influences and the skies drop with other dews, not 
the enchaining of the spirit with some unreal celestial spell, 
but health—the cool, calm vigor of the normal human life; 
the making of the man to be himself; the calling up out of 
the depths of his being and the filling with vitality of that 
self which is truly he—this is salvation! 

Of course it all assumes that in this mixture of good and 
evil which we call Man, this motley and medley which we 
call human character, it is the good and not the evil which is 
the foundation color of the whole. Man is a son of God on 
whom the Devil has laid his hand, not a child of the Devil 
whom God is trying to steal. That is the first truth of all 
religion. That is what Christ is teaching everywhere and 
always. “ We called the chess-board white, we call it black ”; 
but it is, this chess-board of our human life, white not black— 
black spotted on white, not white spotted upon black. 

It is easy to make this question of precedence and intru¬ 
sion seem unimportant. “ If man stands here today half bad, 
half good, what matters it how it came about—whether the 
good intruded on the bad, or the bad upon the good ? Here 


210 

215 

220 

225 

250 

23s 

240 


50 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


is the present actual condition. Is not that enough ?” No, 
surely it is not. Everything depends in the great world upon 
whether Peace or War is the Intruder and the Rebel, upon 
245 whether Liberty or Slavery is the ideal possessor of the 
field. Everything depends in personal life upon whether 
Cowardice has invaded the rightful realm of Courage, or 
Courage has pitched its white tent on dusky fields which 
belong to Cowardice, or whether Truth or Falsehood is the 
250 ultimate king to whom the realm belongs. The great truth 
of Redemption, the great idea of Salvation, is that the realm 
belongs to Truth, that the Lie is everywhere and always an 
intruder and a foe. He came in, therefore he may be driven 
out. When he is driven out, and man is purely man, then 
255 man is saved. It is the glory and preciousness of the first 
mysterious, poetic chapters of Genesis that they are radiant 
through all their sadness with that truth. 

Does this make smaller or less important that great Power 
of God whereby the human life passes from the old condition 
260 to the new—the power of conversion ? Certainly not! What 
task could be more worthy of the Father’s power and love 
than this assertion and fulfilment of His child? All of our 
Christian thinking and talking has been and is haunted by 
a certain idea of failure and recommencement. Man is a 
265 failure, so there shall be a new attempt; and in place of the 
man we will make the Christian! There is nothing of that 
tone about what Jesus says. The Christian to Jesus is the 
man. The Christian, to all who think the thought of Jesus 
after Him, is the perfected and completed man. 

270 Just see what this involves. Hear with what naturalness 
it clothes the invitations of the Gospel. They are not strange 
summons to some distant, unknown land; they are God’s call 
to you to be yourself. They appeal to a homesickness in 
your own heart and make it their confederate. That you 
275 should be the thing you have been, and not be that better 
thing, that new man which is the oldest man, the first type 


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51 


and image of your being, is unnatural and awful. The world 
in the new light of the Gospel expects it of you, is longing for 
it. The creation, in Saint Paul’s great phrase, is groaning 
and travailing, waiting for the manifestation of this child of 
God which is hidden in your life. 

And all this vindicates itself by a mysterious and beautiful 
familiarity in the new life when you have begun to live it. 
With confidence I know that I could appeal to the experience 
of many of you who hear me, to recognize what I mean. I 
take a plant whose home is in the tropics, but which has grown 
to stunted life amid the granite of Vermont. I carry it and 
set it where its nature essentially belongs. Does it not 
know the warm earth, and does not the warm earth know it ? 

Do not the palm trees, and the sky which it sees through 
their broad leaves, and the warmer stars which glorify the 
sky at night speak to the amazed but satisfied heart of the 
poor plant in tones which it understands? And when a 
soul is set there where its nature always has belonged, in 
the obedience of God, in the dear love of Christ, does it not 
know the new life which embraces it ? Ah, it has lived in it 
always in the idea of its being, in the conception of existence 
which has been always at its heart. It has walked the great 
halls of the divine obedience. It has stood by this river of 
divine refreshment. It has seen these great prospects of 
celestial hope. It has climbed to these hill-tops of prophetic 
vision. They are not wholly strange. Nothing is wholly 
strange to any man when he becomes it, which it has always 
been in his nature to become. Because it has always been 
in man to become the fulfilled man, which is the Christian, 
therefore for a man to have become a Christian is never 
wholly strange. 

See also here what a true ground there is for the appeal 
which you desire to make to other souls. It must be from the 
naturalness of the new life that you call out to your brethren. 
You must claim your brother for the holiness to which his 


280 


285 


290 


295 


3 °° 


305 


310 


52 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


nature essentially belongs. “ Come home!” “ Come home !” 

“I have found the homestead!” “I have found the Father!” 
“I have found the true manhood!” “I have found what 
315 you and all men were made to be!” So the soul out of the 
tropics cries out to its brother souls still lingering among the 
granite hills, and the voice has all the persuasiveness of 
Nature. The soft southern winds which bring it tell the 
souls to which it comes that it is true. 

320 There are two sorts of attraction which draw, two sorts 
of fascination which hold human nature everywhere—the 
attraction of the natural and the attraction of the unnatural. 
The attraction of the natural everywhere is healthiest and 
highest. The attraction of the natural is the true attraction 
325 of Religion—most of all, the attraction of the Christian 
Gospel. 

And yet again this makes the higher life intelligible, and 
so makes it real. This alone makes such a thing as Chris¬ 
tian Manliness conceivable. Christian Unmanliness is what 
330 a great many of men’s pious, earnest struggles have been 
seeking. If the saint on to all eternity is to be the ever- 
ripening man, never changing into any new and unknown 
thing which he was not before, never to all eternity unfolding 
one capacity which was not in the substance of his humanity 
335 from its creation, then it follows that the most celestial and 
transcendent goodnesses must still be one in kind with the 
familiar virtues which sometimes in their crude and earthly 
shapes seem low and commonplace. Courage in all the 
worlds is the same courage. Truth before the throne of God 
340 is the same thing as when neighbor talks with neighbor on 
the street. Mercy will grow tenderer and finer, but will be 
the old blessed balm of life in the fields of eternity that it was 
in your workshop and in your home. Unselfishness will 
expand and richen till it enfolds the life like sunshine, but 
345 it will be the same self-denial, opening into a richer self- 
indulgence, which it was when it first stole in with one thin 


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sunbeam on the startled soul. There is no new world of 
virtues in any heaven or in any heavenly experience of life. 

God is good and man is good; and as man becomes more 
good, he becomes not merely more like God, but more him- 350 
self. As he becomes more godly, he becomes more manly too. 

It is so hard for us to believe in the Mystery of Man. 
“Behold man is this,” we say, shutting down some near gate 
which falls only just beyond, quite in sight of, what human 
nature already has attained. If man would go beyond that 355 
he must be something else than man. And just then some¬ 
thing breaks the gate away, and lo, far out beyond where we 
can see stretches the Mystery of Man. The beautiful, the 
awful mystery of man! To him, to man, all lower lines have 
climbed, and having come to him, have found a field where 360 
evolution may go on forever. 

The mystery of man! How Christ believed in that! Oh, 
my dear friends, he who does not believe in that cannot enter 
into the full glory of the Incarnation, cannot really believe 
in Christ. Where the mysterious reach of manhood touches 365 
the divine, there Christ appears. No mere development of 
human nature outgoing any other reach that it has made, 
yet still not incapable of being matched, perhaps of being 
overcome; not that, not that—unique and separate forever— 
but possible, because of this same mystery of man in which 370 
the least of us has share. To him who knows the hither edges 
of that mystery in his own fife, the story of how in, on, at its 
depths it should be able to receive and to contain divinity 
cannot seem incredible; may I not say, cannot seem strange ? 

Men talk about the Christhood, and say, “How strange it 375 
is! Strange that Christ should have been—strange that 
Christ should have suffered for mankind.” I cannot see that 
so we most magnify Him or bring Him nearest to us. Once 
feel the mystery of man and is it strange? Once think it 
possible that God should fill a humanity with Himself, once 380 
see humanity capable of being filled with God, and can you 


54 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


conceive of His not doing it ? Must there not be an Incarna¬ 
tion? Do you not instantly begin to search earth for the 
holy steps ? Once think it possible that Christ can, and are 
385 you not sure that Christ must give himself for our Redemp¬ 
tion? So only, when it seems inevitable and natural, does 
the Christhood become our pattern. Then only does it 
shine on the mountain-top up toward which we can feel the 
low lines of our low life aspiring. The Son of God is also the 
390 Son of Man. Then in us, the sons of men, there is the key to 
the secret of His being and His work. Know Christ that you 
may know yourself. But, oh, also know yourself that you may 
know Christ! 

I think to every Christian there come times when all the 
395 strangeness disappears from the divine humanity which 
stands radiant at the center of his faith. He finds it hard to 
believe in himself and in his brethren perhaps; but that Christ 
should be and should be Christ appears the one reasonable, 
natural, certain thing in all the universe. In Him all broken 
400 fines unite; in Him all scattered sounds are gathered into 
harmony; and out of the consummate certainty of Him, the 
soul comes back to find the certainty of common things which 
the lower faith holds, which advancing faith loses, and then 
finds again in Christ. 

405 How every truth attains to its enlargement and reality 
in this great truth—that the soul of man carries the highest 
possibilities within itself, and that what Christ does for it 
is to kindle and call forth these possibilities to actual existence. 
We do not understand the Church until we understand this 
410 truth. Seen in its fight the Christian Church is nothing in 
the world except the promise and prophecy and picture of 
what the world in its idea is and always has been, and in its 
completion must visibly become. It is the primary crystal- 
ization of humanity. It is no favored, elect body caught from 
415 the ruin, given a salvation in which the rest can have no part. 
It is an attempt to realize the universal possibility. All men 


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are its potential members. The strange thing for any man 
is not that he should be within it, but that he should be 
without it. Every good movement of any most secular 
sort is a struggle toward it, a part of its activity. All the 
world’s history is ecclesiastical history, is the story of the 
success and failure, the advance and hindrance of the ideal 
humanity, the Church of the living God. Well may the 
prophet poet greet it— 

O heart of mine, keep patience; looking forth 
As from the Mount of Vision I behold 
Pure, just, and free the Church of Christ on earth— 

The martyr's dream, the golden age foretold. 

Tell me, my friends, can we not all think that we see a 
progress and elevation in men’s ideas about their souls’ con¬ 
version which would seem to show an entrance into the power 
of this truth ? In old times more than today he who entered 
into the new life of Christ thought of himself as rescued, 
snatched from the wreck of a ruined and sinking world, given 
an exceptional privilege of safety.. Today more than in old 
times the saved soul looks with a delighted and awe-struck 
wonder into his new experience, and sees in it the true and 
natural destiny of all mankind. “Lo, because I am this, I 
know that all men may be it. God has but shown me in my 
soul’s experience of what all souls are capable.” And so the 
new life does not separate the soul from, but brings it more 
deeply into sympathy with, all humanity. 

I believe that here also is the real truth and the final 
satisfaction of men’s minds as concerns the Bible. As the 
spiritual life with which the Bible deals is the flower of human 
life, so the Book which deals with it is the flower of human 
books. But it is not thereby an unhuman book. It is the 
most human of all books. In it is seen the everlasting 
struggle of the man-life to fulfil itself in God. All books in 
which that universal struggle of humanity is told are younger 


420 

425 

430 

435 

440 

445 

450 


56 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


brothers—less clear and realized and developed utterances 
of that which is so vivid in the history of the sacred people 
and is perfect in the picture of the divine Man. I will not 
be puzzled, but rejoice when I find in all the sacred books, in 
155 all deep, serious books of every sort, foregleams and adumbra¬ 
tions of the lights and shadows which lie distinct upon the 
Bible page. I will seek and find the assurance that my Bible 
is inspired of God not in virtue of its distance from, but in 
virtue of its nearness to, the human experience and heart. It 
460 is in that experience and heart that the real inspiration of 
God is given, and thence it issues into the written book: 

Out of the heart of Nature rolled 
The Burdens of the Bible old. 

The Litanies of nations came 
465 Like the volcano’s tongue of flame; 

Up from the burning core below 
The Canticles of love and woe. 

That book is most inspired which most worthily and deeply 
tells the story of the most inspired life. 

470 Is there not here the light of every darkness and the key 
to every riddle? The missionary goes into a heathen land. 
What shall he make of what he finds there? Shall he not 
see in it all the raw material and the suggested potency of 
that divine life which he knows that it is the rightful condition 
475 of the Sons of God to live ? Shall he not be eager and ingen¬ 
ious, rather than reluctant, to find and recognize and proclaim 
the truth that the Father has left Himself without witness 
in no home where His children five ? As in the crudest social 
ways and habits of the savage islanders he sees the beginnings 
480 and first efforts toward the most perfect and elaborate civi¬ 
lizations which the world contains—the germs of constitu¬ 
tions, the promise of senates and cabinets and treaties—so 
in the ignorant and half-brutal faiths shall he not discover the 
upward movement of the soul to which he shall then delight 
485 to offer all the rich fight of the teaching which has come to his 


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centuries of Christian faith, saying, “Lo, this is what it 
means: Whom you are ignorantly worshipping, Him declare 
I unto you ?” 

Among all the philosophies of history where is there one 
which matches with this simple story that man is the child 490 
of God, forever drawn to his Father, beaten back from Him 
by base waves of passion, sure to come to Him in the end. 
There is no philosophy of history which ever has been written 
like the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The first idea, the 
wanton wandering, the discontent, the brave return, the 495 
cordial welcome—all are there. It is the history of man’s 
action and man’s thought; it is the story of his institutions 
and of his ideas; it holds the explanation of the past and the 
promise of the future; its beginning is where the first con¬ 
ception of what man shall be lies in the heart of the Creative 500 
Power; its end is in that endless life which man, having been 
reconciled to God and come to the completion of his idea, is 
to live in his Father’s house forever. 

Do we ask ourselves, as well we may, at what point in that 
long history the world is standing in this rich and interesting 505 
period in which we live ? Who shall precisely say ? But in 
the wonderful story of the Prodigal Son must there not have 
been one moment when at the very height of the revel there 
came a taste of the bitterness into the wine, and when the 
faces of the harlots, in some gleam of fresh morning sunlight 510 
which broke into the hot and glaring chamber, seemed 
tawdry and false and cruel? Must there not have been a 
moment somewhere then, perhaps just when the carouse 
seemed most tempestuous and hopeless, a moment when the 
heart of the exile turned to his home, and the life with his 515 
father seemed so strong and simple and natural and real, so 
cool and sweet and true and healthy, that the miserable 
tumult and the gaudy glare about him for a moment became 
unreal and lost its hold? Much, much had yet to come— 
the poverty and swine and husks—before the boy gathered 520 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


58 

himself together and arose and said, “I will go to my father”; 
but the tide was turned, the face was set homeward, after 
that one moment of true sight of the true light in the hall of 
unnatural revel and resplendent sin. I sometimes think that 
525 there, in many ways just there, is where our age is standing 
with its startled and bewildered face. 

I may be wrong or right about our age, I may be wrong 
or right about many of the ways in which it has appeared to 
me as if the truth which I have tried to preach to you today 
530 touches the great problems of religion and of life. But now 
I turn to you, young men and women, earnest and brave and 
hopeful—many of you also sorely perplexed and puzzled. 
What does this truth mean for you? Does it not mean 
everything for you if Truth and Courage and Unselfishness 
S3S and Goodness are indeed natural to man and all Evil is 
unnatural and foreign ? 

There is indeed a superficial and a deeper nature. I am 
talking of the deeper nature. I am talking of the nature 
which belongs to every one of us as the child of God. I am 
540 talking, not of the waves which may be blown this way or 
that way upon the surface, but of the great tide which is 
heaving shoreward down below. 

The man who lives in that deeper nature, the man who 
believes himself the Son of God, is not surprised at his best 
S4S moments and his noblest inspirations. He is not amazed 
when he does a brave thing or an unselfish thing. He is 
amazed at himself when he is a coward or a liar. He accepts 
self-restraint only as a temporary condition, an immediate 
necessity of life. Not self-restraint but self-indulgence, the 
550 free, unhindered utterance of the deepest nature, which is 
good—that is the only final picture of man’s duty, which 
he tolerates. And all the life is one; the specially and spe¬ 
cifically religious being but the point at which the diamond 
for the moment shines, with all the diamond nature waiting in 
SS5 reserve through the whole substance of the precious stone. 


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Great is the power of a life which knows that its highest 
experiences are its truest experiences, that it is most itself 
when it is at its best. For it each high achievement, each 
splendid vision, is a sign and token of the whole nature’s 
possibility. What a piece of the man was for that shining 560 
instant, it is the duty of the whole man to be always. When 
the hand has once touched the rock the heart cannot be satis¬ 
fied until the whole frame has been drawn up out of the waves 
and stands firm on its two feet on the solid stone. Are there 
not very many of us to whom the worst that we have been 565 
seems ever possible of repetition; but the best that we have 
ever been shines a strange and splendid miracle which cannot 
be repeated ? The gutter in which we lay one day is always 
claiming us. The mountain-top on which we stood one 
glorious morning seems to have vanished from the earth. 570 

The very opposite of all that is the belief of him who 
knows himself the child of God. For him, for him alone, sin 
has its true horror. “What! have I, who once have claimed 
God, whom once God has claimed, have I been down into 
the den of Devils ? Have I brutalized my brain with drink ? 575 
Have I let my heart bum with lust? Have I, the child of 
God, cheated and lied and been cruel and trodden on my 
brethren to satisfy my base ambition?” Oh, believe me, 
believe me, my dear friends, you never will know the horror 
and misery of sin till you know the glory and mystery of 580 
man. You never can estimate the disaster of an interrup¬ 
tion till you know the worth of what it interrupts. You 
never will understand wickedness by dwelling on the innate 
depravity of man. You can understand wickedness only 
by knowing that the very word man means holiness and 585 
strength. 

Here, too, lies the sublime and beautiful variety of human 
life. It is as beings come to their reality that they assert 
their individuality. In the gutter all the poor wretches lie 
huddled together, one indistinguishable mass of woe; but 590 


6o 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


on the mountain-top each figure stands out separate and 
clear against the blueness of the sky. The intense variety 
of Light! The awful monotony of Darkness! Men are 
various; Christians ought to be various a thousand-fold. 
595 Strive for your best, that there you may find your most dis¬ 
tinctive life. We cannot dream of what interest the world 
will have when every being in its human multitude shall 
shine with his own light and color, and be the child of God 
which it is possible for him to be—which he has ever been in 
600 the true home-land of his Father’s thought. 

Do I talk fancies? Do I paint visions upon unsub¬ 
stantial clouds ? If it seems to you that I do, I beg you to 
come back now, as I close, to those words which I quoted to 
you at the beginning. “I am the Light of the World,” said 
605 Jesus. Do you not see now what I meant when I declared 
that it was in making the world know itself that Christ was 
primarily the Power of the World’s Redemption? The 
Revealer and the Redeemer are not two persons, but only 
one—one Saviour. 

610 What then? If Christ can make you know yourself; if, 
as you walk with Him day by day, He can reveal to you your 
sonship to the Father; if, keeping daily company with Him, 
you can come more and more to know how native is good¬ 
ness and how unnatural sin is to the soul of man; if, dwelling 
615 with Him who is both God and Man, you can come to believe 
both in God and in Man through Him, then you are saved— 
saved from contempt, saved from despair, saved into courage 
and hope and charity and the power to resist temptation, and 
the passionate pursuit of perfectness. 

620 It is as simple and as clear as that. Our religion is not a 
system of ideas about Christ. It is Christ. To believe in 
Him is what ? To say a creed ? To join a church ? No; but 
to have a great, strong, divine Master, whom we perfectly 
love, whom we perfectly trust, whom we will follow anywhere, 
625 and who, as we follow Him or walk by His side, is always 


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drawing out in us our true nature and making us determined 
to be true to it through everything, is always compelling us 
to see through falsehood and find the deepest truth, which is, 
in one great utterance of it, that we are the sons of God, who 
is thus always “leading us to the Father.” 630 

The hope of the world is in the ever richer naturalness of 
the highest life. “The earth shall be full of the knowledge 
of God as the waters cover the sea.” 

Your hope and mine is the same. The day of our salva¬ 
tion has not come till every voice brings us one message; till 635 
Christ, the Light of the world, everywhere reveals to as the 
divine secret of our fife; till everything without joins with 
the consciousness all alive within, and “the Spirit Itself 
beareth witness with our spirits that we are the children of 
God.” 640 


62 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


GENERAL NOTES 

I. Impression.—Compare the impression made by 
Bushnell. Which would reach more effectively an 
average audience today? Why? 

II. Analysis.—Note the following suggestions: 

1. Does the short sentence (p. 43, 11 . 25, 26) mark 
the close of the Introduction and “then” (p. 43, 1 . 27) 
the beginning of the discussion? 

2. At page 46, line 136, a division is announced, 
“Let us then leave the figure, and try to grasp the truth 
in its complete simplicity and see what some of its 
applications are.” 

3. At page 48, line 193, the applications begin. 

4. At page 60, line 601, appears to be the announce¬ 
ment of a formal conclusion. 

5. Is there a clear hint at the plan in page 43, lines 
17-19, “The whole meaning of the Christian faith and its 
relation to the great world of life.” 

V. Subject.—At no point is the subject formally 
announced, as, for example, by such words as “The 
subject that we shall consider today is,” etc. It is 
plainly involved in more than one sentence. What are 
some of these indirect statements? Would the sermon 
have been better if the subject had been clearly 
announced? 

VI. Proposition.—Leaving off the conditional clause, 
could this be taken as the proposition which is to be 
discussed in the sermon, “Christ when He comes finds 
the soul of the world really existent . . . . ; and what 
He does for it is to quicken it through and through, 
.... to bid it be itself” (p. 46,11. 115-24)? 


BROOKS: “THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD” 63 

In thus condensing the entire sentence indicated 
above, has its meaning been essentially changed? 

If this proposition is unsatisfactory, frame one of 
your own. 

VII. Introduction.—It occupies about one twenty- 
eighth of the sermon. Is this about the right length? 

Does the first sentence arrest attention and create 
interest by its suggestion of the figurative value of light ? 

Compare a sermon by Henry van Dyke from Matt. 
5:13, “ Ye are the salt of the earth.” 

One of the books which used to be considered indispen¬ 
sable to the library of a welbfurnished clergyman in the last 
century was called “The Whole Duty of Man.” It is an 
excellent, large volume, of many pages. But the Divine 
Master has put the essence of it into this one word—Salt. 
—Barton, Pulpit Power , p. 762. 

What conclusions do you draw from these two uses 
of a biblical figure for a sermon subject? 

IX. Plan.—Note the following: 

A. The “parable of the Light” is explained as a true 
“parable of Christ.” Is this necessary? Or is it 
perfectly obvious, and therefore is explanation needless? 
Is it too long? Are any accidental items introduced or 
enlarged upon? 

B. The second point unfolds the truth in the parable 
in “ its complete simplicity.” Is this done with sufficient 
detail and clearness? 

C. The third point applies the truth, which has been 
discussed briefly, to various Christian experiences and 
teachings, showing how it makes them reasonable and 
real. 


64 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


D. Bishop Brooks might have discussed the second 
point at length, justifying by argument the truth that 
the world belongs essentially to God. Would this have 
made the applications clearer or more cogent? 

E. This brief discussion of a truth and its immediate 
application to various phases of human experience we 
call the deductive method. Little time is spent in the 
explanation of the truth or its justification; instead, it 
is regarded as practically axiomatic; the main part of 
the sermon is devoted to the application of the truth to 
life. In case the general truth is not firmly established 
with the congregation, is this deductive method ineffective? 
In case the spheres of application are not well chosen 
how may the deductive method fail? 

F. The third division, the applications, has two 
divisions, general and specific. Is this division accurately 
preserved in the arrangement of items that follows? 
Do you feel that Bishop Brooks studied with care the 
selection and arrangement of the specific applications? 
Or do you feel that they are presented in his sermon as 
they rushed into his mind in the glow of his first attack 
upon his subject, without discriminating study? If you 
were to ( a ) omit any, ( b ) include any, (c) change the pro¬ 
portion of time given to any, or (d) rearrange the order 
of presentation, what would you do? Give the reason 
for any changes. 

G. As a result of this study what conclusions do you 
arrive at concerning the plan of the sermon? What are 
the characteristics of an effective plan? 

X. Material.—It is instantly apparent that this is a 
doctrinal sermon. It starts with the dominant teaching 
that life essentially belongs to God and in all its highest 


BROOKS: “THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD” 65 

expressions and realizations it is only expressing its 
divine character. Note carefully the full significance 
of the statements (p. 47, 11 . 138-48). The doctrine 
comprehends many others touched upon in the progress 
of the sermon: Christian character (“The fullest 
Christian experience is simply the fullest life”); salvation 
or conversion (“There is no transportation to a foreign 
region”). Compare Beecher, Yale Lectures on Preach¬ 
ing , I, 3 I: 

I endeavored to impress you yesterday with the idea that 
preaching is the exertion of the living force of men upon 
living men for the sake of developing in them a higher 
manhood. I say a higher manhood rather than a higher life, 
because I do not wish to separate a Christian life as something 
distinct from the movement of the whole being. 

Also Bushnell: “The holy Scriptures seem in all 
possible ways to be holding up the dignity of common 
life.” 1 

What other essential Christian doctrines are involved 
in this sermon? Would the average hearer have thought 
that he was listening to a doctrinal sermon? How does 
Brooks’s theology agree with that of Spurgeon and 
Newman (reserve this for later discussion)? 

XI. Illustrations.—This sermon is one of the most 
profitable available examples of the use of illustrative 
material and should be carefully studied especially for 
the purpose of comparison later with Spurgeon (p. 121). 

Note especially the treatment of the figure of the 
light (p. 44, 11 . 46-51). Observe the completeness 
with which the three sentences cover the figure or 

* “Every Man’s Life a Plan of God, ” in Sermons for the New Life , 

p. 11. 


66 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


“ parable” of light as set forth in the characteristic 
differences of morning, noon , and night. These three 
divisions instantly assure the unity of the treatment of 
the figure. The first sentence is the simplest, as it 
should be to secure climax; we have only the simple 
words, “fills the east with glory.” The second sentence 
contains more items. Study carefully the three adjec¬ 
tives, flooded , beaten, quivering . Do these describe 
accurately the condition of a heated plain lying beneath 
the noonday sun? Suggest better adjectives. Do the 
three gather force from their arrangement? Transpose 
them thus: quivering, beaten, flooded. Has anything been 
lost? Could the plain quiver before it had been flooded 
with the hot sunshine? The third sentence contains the 
most items. Note the two verbs, hush, elevate. Do these 
accurately describe the influence of twilight and evening 
upon a sensitive spirit? Suggest other verbs that would 
be more accurate or vivid. Study the three nouns, 
mystery, sweetness, suggestiveness. Are these appropriate? 
Are they well arranged? Do you think that these 
three sentences came quite spontaneously, or did Bishop 
Brooks work on them? In either case, was he a literary 
artist? Is the sermon a work of art? 

Now read carefully page 44, lines 51-64, and page 
46, lines 133-36. This is a clear statement of the 
fundamental principles that should govern the use of 
illustrations in preaching. We note the following items, 
which will be treated more fully on pages 237-46. 

A. Never allow yourself to be drawn away from the 
one central truth in the illustration. The danger that 
we shall do this is constant. An illustration is useful 
only so long as the one supreme idea in it is kept in view. 


BROOKS: “THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD” 67 

B. Every figure, pressed too far, inevitably breaks 
down, and becomes thereby a source of weakness in the 
sermon. The illustrations are therefore one of the most 
vulnerable places in the sermon. At first glance it seems 
easy to use them; as a matter of fact, it is exceedingly 
difficult. 

C. There is great danger is dwelling too long on any 
illustration. Bishop Brooks presented the figure of light 
in vivid beauty; then he left it in the effort to make 
clear the one truth that it had set forth. 

Note the reference to Matthew Arnold (p. 48, 
11 . 186, 187). Is the use of “doubting lips” justifiable? 


SERMON STUDY IV 
BEECHER, “WHAT IS CHRIST TO ME?” 

INTRODUCTORY NOTES 

Henry Ward Beecher, American, Congregationalist, 
was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, June 24, 1813. 
He was the son of Rev. Lyman Beecher, a preacher of 
national distinction, and was the brother of Harriet 
Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin. His 
mother was a woman of the finest nature and gave to her 
children their love of art and culture. In 1830 Henry 
Ward Beecher entered Amherst College, graduating four 
years later. He then became a student in Lane Theo¬ 
logical Seminary, Cincinnati, Ohio, of which his father 
was president. He began his ministry in Lawrenceburg, 
Indiana; removed in 1839 to Indianapolis; and in 1847 
was called to be pastor of Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, 
to the pulpit of which he gave world-wide fame for the 
remainder of his life. He died in 1887. He was generally 
considered while living as the most distinguished “orator” 
of the American pulpit, and this judgment has not been 
altered since his death. His service to the cause of 
human freedom and to his country during the Civil 
War merits the highest praise. 

Mr. Beecher’s method of sermon preparation—he 
was always Mr. and never Dr. Beecher—was character¬ 
istic of the man. He has described it himself as follows: 

I have half a dozen or more topics lying loose in my mind 
through the week; I think of one or another, as occasion may 
68 


BEECHER: “WHAT IS CHRIST TO ME?” 69 


serve, anywhere,—at home, in the street, in the horse-car. 
I rarely know what theme I shall use until Sunday morning. 
Then, after breakfast, I go into my study, as a man goes into 
his orchard: I feel among these themes as he feels among the 
apples, to find the ripest and the best; the theme which 
seems most ripe I pluck; then I select my text, analyze my 
subject, prepare my sermon, and go into the pulpit to preach 
it while it is fresh. 

Commenting on this statement, which Mr. Beecher 
had made to him, Dr. Lyman Abbott says: 

In this preparation he wrote the introduction and the 
earlier portions of his sermon in full, but as the time for the 
church service grew near, the writing was more abbreviated; 
then mere heads were jotted down, in single sentences, or 
perhaps single words; and at last, almost as the bell began 
to toll, he caught up his unfinished manuscript, walked with 
long, rapid strides to the church, edged his way through the 
throng, with a greeting here and there to a special friend, 
dropped his soft felt hat by the side of his chair, put his notes 
on the table beside him, sometimes added to them with a pencil 
while the choir was singing the anthem. When the time for 
the sermon came, the notes lay on the open Bible before him. 
He read in a quiet manner, not always easily audible through¬ 
out the church unless it were notably still, the first and fully 
written pages, dropped his manuscript to throw in a thought 
that flashed upon him, came back to it again, dropped it 
again, presently dropped it altogether, either not to recur to 
it at all, or to recur to it only to catch from some word or 
sentence a hint as to the next point in the current of his 
thought. To the careless it seemed that Mr. Beecher’s 
preparation of his sermon was left to Sunday morning; 
in fact, he rarely if ever in his ordinary preaching treated 
a theme until he had given to it weeks of meditation. 


70 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


The best available biography is Henry Ward Beecher 
by Lyman Abbott, 1903. The quotations above are 
from pages 118 and 119 of this volume. The familiar 
pictures of Mr. Beecher show him as a man of strong 
features and commanding presence, and one of the most 
characteristic of these represents him seated, looking 
out over the water to the distant sky line of New York, 
with all of which he was familiar and which he loved 
with intense loyalty. He was a “great human. ,, 

The sermon studied is from Plymouth Pulpit: 
Sermons Preached in Plymouth Church , Brooklyn , by 
Henry Ward Beecher , 1 ,303. It was delivered on Sunday 
morning, December 21, 1873, an d was reported by T. J. 
Ellinwood, who was for years Mr. Beecher’s stenographer. 


BEECHER: “WHAT IS CHRIST TO ME? 1 


7i 


WHAT IS CHRIST TO ME ? 

That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful 
in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God—Col. 1:10. 

This is to be interpreted by such passages as that of the 
27th verse: “To whom God would make known what is the 
riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which 
is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” 

One of the passages fitly interprets the other. We are 5 
to “walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing”; and Jesus 
Christ as formed in us, “the hope of glory,” interprets that 
God to us, and stands for him. The command to grow in 
the knowledge of God requires only a very few words; but 
the thing itself is the labor of ages; and, as in all sciences and 10 
in every school of philosophy, growth has been hindered by 
wrong methods, so that science began and went out, almost, 
with Aristotle, because false methods were applied; and it 
waited for the days of Bacon and the modern school before 
any great advance was made. History was but clustering 15 
fables until the philosophic methods of history were devel¬ 
oped. And, as the development of science in every depart¬ 
ment—for instance, physiology, the science of the mind, 
etc.—stumbled and blundered by wrong methods, coming 
continually short, and began to brighten and bear fruit so 20 
soon as right methods were found out and made use of; so 
the knowledge of God has waited through the ages for right 
methods. It has been pursued in various ways; and yet 
no other subject so important has received so little increment, 
compared with the time during which the world has existed 25 
and the human mind has been active, as this one matter— 
the knowledge of God. 

It is made the central and critical relation of Christ to 
every human soul. As we are to be saved by our faith in 
Jesus Christ, it becomes a matter of transcendent importance 30 
to each one of us to know Christ, to increase in our knowledge 


72 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


of him, and therefore to know how to increase in that knowl¬ 
edge. The fact is that very few persons now have any view or 
experience in regard to the Lord Jesus Christ as the interpreter 
35 of God’s nature, which answers at all either to the experience 
of the apostles, or to that which they aimed at in their 
preaching. 

The question therefore comes up with emphasis: Is Jesus 
Christ so presented to men that they may reap the best 
40 fruits of faith ? Are the methods of presentation the wisest 
and the best ? Are the modes of study which are employed 
by the great mass of Christian people the best and the wisest ? 
It is to the consideration of this general subject that I shall 
devote this morning’s discourse. 

45 To his personal disciples the relation of Christ was one 
of intense admiration and love. With all the glow and 
enthusiasm which belongs to heroic friendship, they loved 
Jesus during his life. Not only that, but after the bewilder¬ 
ment of his crucifixion was over, and after his resurrection 
50 became an article of assured faith to them, they continued 
to have an intense personal love for him. It was in each case 
the fidelity of a clansman to his chief. It was the enthusiasm 
of a man in regard to some high and noble friend. 

The expectation, doubtless, of soon seeing him again 
55 increased the intensity of this feeling—for all the early years 
of Christendom were passed in the expectation of the immedi¬ 
ate coming of Christ. It was the whole aim of the apostles 
to inspire in every man just this personal love and enthusiasm 
toward the Lord Jesus Christ. 

60 Does it exist? I do not ask whether men say “Lord, 
Lord,” enough. I do not ask whether men say they are going 
to act thus and so “for Christ’s sake”; that they must “honor 
Christ”; that they must “glorify Jesus.” Of words there 
are enough. The question is far deeper than that. Is there 
65 an intense inward consciousness of the reality, the presence, 
the love, and the power of the Lord Jesus Christ which gives 


BEECHER: “WHAT IS CHRIST TO ME? 


73 


to many men such an impulse that they can say that their 
“life is hid with Christ in God?” 

Is there any such affection as this ? Christ is the neigh¬ 
bor of a great many persons: does he abide in their house- 70 
holds ? Does he come into their midst ? Does he dwell with 
them, and do they dwell with him? An intense personal 
love for the Lord Jesus Christ being the germinant element, 
the beginning experience, so far as his relation with men was 
concerned, it was to this that the apostles directed all their 75 
exertion. Hence, the first argument was an argument to 
disabuse the Jewish mind of its prejudices, and to show the 
serious-minded and moral men among the Jews that Jesus 
answered to the Old Testament description of the Messiah. 
Therefore, in the preaching and in the letters of the apostles, 80 
the views of Jesus Christ in relation to the prejudices and 
education of the Jews, in relation to the text of the Old Testa¬ 
ment, in relation to the Jewish sacrifices, and in relation to 
foregone history, figure largely; and much of modern theology 
has been similarly occupied in presenting views of Jesus 85 
Christ in relation to certain national Jewish prejudices or 
notions. 

Now, we have no such history as the Jews had; we have 
no such prejudices as they had; we have no such system as 
they had; we have no sacrifices; we have no altars; we have 90 
no priesthood; and to present Christ to us in the same way 
that he was presented to the Jews would be utterly void, 
unless by education you raised up an artificial condition which 
should be equivalent to that of the Jewish system. To a 
certain extent, this has been done. A most extraordinary 95 
thing is the artificial view into which men have been educated 
in order to make modern theology match with the relative 
arguments of the apostles on the subject of Christ’s relations 
to the old Jewish national system. If I wished to stimulate 
our people in New England to heroism, do you suppose I would 100 
talk to them of Marathon and Pultowa ? I would talk to them 


74 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


of Bunker Hill and Lexington. If I were in Louisiana, and 
wished to inspire patriotism in the people there, I would not 
talk to them of Waterloo or of Wagram. I would talk to 
105 them of the battle of New Orleans and of the defeat of Pack- 
enham. It is not wise to attempt to inspire men with a 
heroic sense of the Lord Jesus Christ by preaching to them 
of an altar that for two thousand years has not existed; of a 
temple that was long ago in ruins; or of a ritual that they 
no never saw, and that is a mere historical reminiscence. There 
must be an inspiration that shall open Christ up to our sym¬ 
pathy and reason as he was opened up to the sympathy and 
reason of the Jews. The genius of the philosophy of the 
apostles was peculiarly to develop the character of Christ in 
115 such a way as to meet the special national want which existed 
in their time; and the peculiar nature of our theology should 
be to meet that want which is the outgrowth of our national 
education. 

As the Christian religion went forth and began to take 
120 hold of and subdue the mind of the world, it fell naturally first 
into the Greek line of thought; and it was made a matter 
largely of mental philosophy. During the period of the gesta¬ 
tion of theology, Christ’s nature, his relation to the Godhead, 
and his equality or non-equality with God—all these elements 
125 were profoundly discussed. Christ Jesus, when the Greek 
philosophy prevailed, was presented to the human mind in his 
dynastic relations, as a part of the reigning Deity—as belong¬ 
ing to the imperial God. More and more this took place, so 
that men had a psychological problem put to them instead 
130 of a solving process. They had an analyzed, arranged, classi¬ 
fied God; and he was to them what, to a lover of flowers, is 
a hortus siccus —an herbarium in which last summer’s plants 
have been skillfully culled and dried and arranged with refer¬ 
ence to their genera and species and varieties. There they 
135 all are; none of them are growing; they are all dried; but 
they are scientific. The work of the Greek mind on the char- 


BEECHER: “WHAT IS CHRIST TO ME?” 


75 


acter of God was to analyse it, to classify its relations and 
parts, and to present it to the world as a problem in mental 
philosophy applied to theology. 

Then, coming down still further, theology became Roman- 140 
ized. The Romans introduced the legal element into it. 
Instead of having a simple personal Christ as the Jews had; 
or instead of having a psychological problem such as the 
Greeks had, they had a scheme of theology which treated 
of the moral government of God, of the Law-giver, of the 145 
Atoner, of the Spirit, and of the Church. At length the 
administration of religion and theology fell into priestly 
hands, and became a power more universal and more impe¬ 
rious than any that ever was developed on earth in any other 
direction. The imagination, the reason and the conscience 150 
were all put into the hands of the priest who exercised 
authority over the soul, and personal liberty died out. Men 
believed in God as the Church believed in him. And the 
Church believed in God as they were taught to believe by 
the imperial view. 155 

Thus, in the third estate, Christ, instead of being simply 
a person standing in personal relations to each man that 
sought him, had become the center of a great system of moral 
government; and away down to the early days of this genera¬ 
tion we almost never heard of Christ as a person. During 160 
all my early life I heard of sinfulness—though that I did not 
need to hear about; for my own soul, and my own poor 
stumbling life taught me enough on that subject. I also 
heard of the Atonement of Christ. But almost never did I 
hear of Christ . He was something that I was to find after I 165 
had got through certain enigmas; after I had, as it were, been 
initiated, and had gone through certain stages, and become 
a sort of mason. Religion was regarded as a kind of masonry 
in which one passed in at a certain gate, giving a certain 
signal, and took certain successive steps, and rose through 170 
certain gradations, and at last came to a point where Christ 


76 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


was opened up to him. After the law had been shown to me, 
and I had gone through a process of repentance, and become 
regenerated, there was to be a Christ for me; but Christ 
i7S was never presented to me when I was young as a great 
influencing power operating in advance of all other things. 
I had come to my majority before I had such a view of Christ. 
One of the most extraordinary epochs of my life was the hour 
(I never knew how nor exactly why) in which I discovered, or 
180 in which it dawned upon me, that I had a personal Christ as 
something separable from problems of mental philosophy, 
from the church, from any plan of salvation, and from any 
doctrine of atonement—a living, loving God, whom I had a 
right to approach in my own personality, and who had toward 
185 me such feelings as made me welcome to come to him at 
any time. The opening of that conception to me was the 
beginning of the revolution of my life. I should not have 
been here to-day, nor through the last quarter of a century, 
but for that single view of Christ which rose upon me with 
190 healing in its beams. 

A personal Saviour, to be studied and learned, must be 
presented in such a way that we can make him personal to 
ourselves. This was done in part by that great revulsion 
called the Protestant Reformation. Salvation by faith was 
195 the glory of Luther. He unquestionably had in his own 
inward experience the right element; but it does not follow 
that the presentation of it was the one which was the best 
adapted to enlighten the whole world. Experience has shown 
that it was not. It was much covered with habits and pre- 
200 judices and philosophies; for no man can throw off in a 
moment the opinions of the ages of which he is a child and 
product. Everywhere, when a philosophy is renounced, it 
still lives. Its detritus remains. Men find a thousand 
prejudices and habits clinging to them after they have 
205 abandoned the beliefs which begot these incumbrances. 


BEECHER: “WHAT IS CHRIST TO ME? 


When a philosophy has been set aside the fruit stays by, for 
good if it was good, and for bad if it was bad. 

In the main, by the Protestant system Christ was pre¬ 
sented as a part of theology in a certain way, and although 
the element Christ Jesus, as a living God, was the glory and 
the secret power of that system, yet it was not brought out 
and freed from the accumulations and incrustations of the 
ages. 

We come, now, to the truth that a personal Saviour must 
be studied from the stand-point of one’s own soul. It is not 
the relation of the Lord Jesus Christ to God, it is not his rela¬ 
tion to the divine government, it is not his relation to a 
system of theology, but it is his relation to you , as represent¬ 
ing very God, that you are to study. His personal relation 
to your wants—to your understanding, to your imagination, 
to your moral sense, to your yearnings, to your strivings— 
this is the only point at which you can come to any knowledge 
of the Lord Jesus Christ that shall be available to you. 

This will bring us back to the apostolic experience. It will 
bring us back to the interior element of Christianity as dis¬ 
tinguished from those external elements which have been 
thrown around about it. It would bring us from Jewish 
misconceptions, from the Grecized view, from the Roman 
view, and from the heterogeneous modern view, to the Lord 
Jesus himself, the Saviour of the world, by faith in whom each 
soul is to be redeemed. 

First, we are to understand that he is to our thought 
God—by which I do not mean that any man can define God. 
No man can take a pencil and mark the features of Jehovah, 
and say, “Thus far is God, and no farther.” How poor a 
God must that be whom I can understand! He would be 
no larger than the measure of my thought—and that would 
be small indeed. No man can limit and define God. After 
all intellectual statements have been made, after all defini¬ 
tions have been given, immensely more is left untouched than 


210 

215 

220 

225 

23O 

235 

240 


78 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


has been touched. But the functions of the divine nature, 
the quality of that nature and its moral essence, one may 
suspect or know without comprehending all of God. 

Bring me but a glass of water and I know what water is. 
245 I may not know, if I am untraveled, what are the springs in 
the mountain, what are cascades, what are the streams that 
thunder through deep gorges, what are broadening rivers, 
what are bays, or what is the ocean; and yet I may know 
what water is. A drop on my finger tells me its quality. 
250 From that I know that it is not wood, that it is not rock, 
that it is not air, that it is not anything but water. 

I am not able by searching to find out God unto perfec¬ 
tion; and yet I know that, so far as I have found him out, 
and so far as he is ever going to be found out, whatever there 
255 is in goodness, whatever there is in sweetness, whatever there 
is in patience; whatever can be revealed by the cradle, by 
the crib, by the couch, by the table; whatever there is in 
household love and in other loves; whatever there is in 
heroism among men; whatever there is of good report; 
260 whatever has been achieved by imagination or by reason; 
whatever separates man from the brute beast, and lifts him 
above the clod—I know that all these elements belong to 
God, the eternal and universal Father. Although I may not 
be able to draw an encyclopediac circle and say, “All inside 
265 of that is God, and anything outside of it is not God”; yet I 
know that everything which tends upward, that everything 
which sets from a lower life to a higher, that everything which 
leads from the basilar to the coronal, that everything whose 
results are good, is an interpretation of God, who, though he 
270 may be found to be other than we suppose, will be found 
to be not less, but more glorious than we suspect. 

Every man, then, is to understand that Christ represents 
God so far as the human mind is in a condition to understand 
and take him in. I find no difiiculty in saying that Christ is 
275 God, because I never undertake to weigh God with scales or 


BEECHER: “WHAT IS CHRIST TO ME?” 79 


to measure him with compasses. There are men who have sat 
down and ciphered God out; they have figured up the matters 
of omnipotence, of omniscience and of omnipresence; they 
have marked the limits to which the Divine power can go; 
they can tell why God may do so and so, and why he may 280 
not do this, that or the other; and I can understand how they 
should raise objections to saying that Christ is God. To 
some extent we may comprehend the divine nature in certain 
points; but God is too large, not simply for the intelligence 
of individuals, but for the intelligence of the race itself, though 285 
it has been developed for many ages. If it should be devel¬ 
oped through countless ages to come, it would still be inca¬ 
pable of understanding God, so vast and voluminous is he; 
and yet I find no difficulty in saying, “Christ is God.” So 
far as the human mind is competent to understand the con- 290 
stituent elements of the divine nature they are in Jesus Christ, 
and he presents them to us. 

I draw out from my pocket a little miniature, and look 
upon it, and tears drop from my eyes, What is it ? A piece 
of ivory. What is on it ? A face that some artist has painted 295 
there. It is a radiant face. My history is connected with 
it. When I look upon it tides of feeling swell in me. Some 
one comes to me and says, “What is that?” I say, “It is 
my mother.” “Your mother! I should call it a piece of 
ivory with water-colors on it.” To me it is my mother. 300 
When you come to scratch it and analyze it and scrutinize 
the elements of it, to be sure it is only a sign or dumb show, 
but it brings to me that which is no sign nor dumb show. 
According to the law of my mind, through it I have brought 
back, interpreted, refreshed, revived, made potent in me, 305 
all the sense of what a loving mother was. 

So I take my conception of Christ as he is painted in dead 
letters on dead paper; and to me is interpreted the glory, 
the sweetness, the patience, the love, the joy-inspiring nature 
of God; and I do not hesitate to say, “Christ is my God,” 310 


8o 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


just as I would not hesitate to say of that picture, “ It is my 
mother.” 

‘‘But,” says a man, “you do not mean that you really 
sucked at the breast of that picture?” No, I did not; 
315 but I will not allow anyone to drive me into any such minute 
analysis as that. 

Now I hold that the Lord Jesus Christ, as represented in 
the New Testament, brings to my mind all the effluence of 
brightness and beauty which I am capable of understanding. 
320 I can take in no more. He is said to be the express image of 
God’s glory. He transcends infinitely my reach; for when 
I have gone to the extent of my capacity there is much that 
I cannot attain to. 

When, therefore, Christ is presented to me I will not put 
325 him in the multiplication table, I will not make him a prob¬ 
lem in arithmetic or mathematics; I will not stand and say, 
“How can three be one?” or “How can one be three?” I 
will interpret Christ by the imagination and the heart. Then 
he will bring to me a conception of God such as the heavens 
330 never, in all their glory, declared; such as the earth has never 
revealed, either in ancient or modem times. He reveals to 
us a God whose interest in man is inherent, and who through 
his mercy and goodness made sacrifices for it. God so loved 
the world that he gave his only begotten Son to die for it. 
335 What is the only begotten Son of God ? Who knows ? Who 
cares to know? That his only begotten Son is precious to 
him we may know, judging from the experience of an earthly 
father; and we cannot doubt that when he gave Christ to 
come into life, and humble himself to man’s condition, and 
340 take upon himself an ignominious death, he sacrificed that 
which was exceedingly dear to him. And this act is a revela¬ 
tion of the feeling of God toward the human race. 

There had sat and thundered Jupiter, striking the imagina¬ 
tion of men; there had been the Grecian deities, good and 
345 bad, reaching through the great mythological realm of the 


BEECHER: “WHAT IS CHRIST TO ME?” 81 


fancy; there had been the grotesque idols of the heathen; 
these things had given to the world a thousand strange phan¬ 
tasies and vagrant notions; but nothing had given men a 
true conception of God until Christ came, declaring that God 
so loved the world that he gave the best thing he had to 
save it. 

Now, measure what the meaning of that truth is. Away, 
ye Furies! Away, ye Fates! Away, ignoble conceptions of 
Greece, of Rome, and of outlying barbarous nations! Heaven 
is now made radiant by the Son of God, teaching us that at 
the center of power, of wisdom and of government, sits the 
all-paternal love, and that it is the initial of God. It is the 
Alpha and the Omega; and the literature and lore of divinity 
must be interpreted according to its genius. God so loved 
the world, before it loved him, knowing its condition, that 
he gave his only Son to die for it. This is the interpretation 
of the everlasting sacrifice of the divine nature in the way of 
loving. Jesus Christ epitomizes, represents, interprets God 
to us as the central fountain, source and supply of transcend¬ 
ent benevolence and love in the universe. This intense 
interest and love in God works to the development of every 
soul toward him. It is not divine indifference. It is not 
divine good-nature. It is not divine passivity. It is a 
parent’s desire for a child’s development from evil toward 
goodness, toward purity, toward sweetness, toward godliness. 
God is one who is laborious and self-sacrificing, seeking the 
race, not because they are so good, but to make them good, 
stimulating them, inspiring them, and desiring above all 
things else that they shall be fashioned away from the animal 
toward his sonship. That is the drift and direction of the 
divine government. 

It is said that to preach God’s love effeminates the mind. 
It is said that it makes men careless and indifferent. It is 
said, “ If God is a great central Love, why, then, it does not 
make much difference how men live.” Ah! the truth as it 


3So 

355 

360 

365 

370 

375 

380 


82 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


is set forth in the Bible is, that God loves in such a way as to 
urge men forward to that which is high and ennobling. 
Through love he chastens and pierces by way of stirring men 
up. By joy and by sorrow, by pleasure and by pain, by all 
385 means, God seeks to make the objects of his love worthy of 
himself. He that loves only to degrade is infernal. He that 
loves so that the object of his love withers under his influence 
loves as fire loves, consuming to ashes that which it loves. 
No one has true love who does not know that it is the inspira- 
390 tion of nobility; that it is a power which is carrying its object 
upward, being willing to suffer for the sake of lifting it higher 
and higher. That is the test of man’s love, because God has 
given it to us as the test of his own love. 

Every man, then, is to seek Jesus Christ personally. 
395 The way of salvation is the way of heart—faith in Christ. 
He represents God, and God represents love, and love repre¬ 
sents development from sinfulness toward righteousness. 
And every man is to seek this Christ as interpreting God to us 
for his own sake. The perception of Christ’s relations to 
400 one’s own salvation is a thousand times more important than 
a perception of his relation to the Old Testament, or to the 
Godhead, or to the theology, or to the history of the church. 
It is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” that the apostle was 
to preach. Your own want—the want of your character 
405 and of your whole nature—that is to be the starting-point in 
every investigation in this direction. “What is Christ to 
me?” is to be the question. 

When for ten days the Java had sailed without an observa¬ 
tion, and when, at last, there came an opportunity to take one, 
410 did the captain take it for the sake of navigation at large? 
No; he took it to find out first of all where the good ship was on 
her voyage. Not that navigation was of no account, not that 
astronomy was of no account; but that observation was taken 
for the sake of that particular ship on that particular voyage. 


BEECHER: “WHAT IS CHRIST TO ME?” 83 


I do not undertake to say that there is nothing else to be 
thought of in the world but one’s own spiritual condition; 
but I do say that the prime consideration with every man is, 
“What is Christ to my soul?” How does your soul need 
Christ? How does he interpret himself as being the outlet 
of every want in your nature ? These are the all-important 
inquiries which concern you. 

No man can have another man’s Christ—if you will not 
misunderstand my words and pervert my meaning. As a 
physician is who stands over you in sickness, so is Christ 
Jesus. What to your thought a teacher is who labors with 
you according to your ignorance, that is the Lord Jesus Christ. 

When, during the famine in Ireland, the benevolent 
people of this country sent provision to the thousands who 
were starving there, a government ship—a man-of-war—was 
appointed to take it over; and never was there an armament 
that slew prejudices and animosities as did the cargo which 
was discharged out of the sides of that old frigate. But when 
the vessel arrives in Ireland, we will suppose one set of the 
inhabitants go down to the shore where she lies at anchor, 
and say, “This thing is to be looked at in the light of naval 
architecture.” Another set go down, and say, “A govern¬ 
ment vessel! What is the relation of government to the 
wants of a people who are suffering from hunger? What 
business has a government to send provision in a war-ship ?” 
They are disposed to discuss the question in the light of civil 
policy. Another set go down and say, “Wheat and potatoes: 
what is the excellence of wheat compared with that of 
potatoes, chemically considered ?” The suffering men stand 
on the shore and cry, “Our fathers and mothers and brothers 
and sisters are dying for the want of food: unload! unloadl 
unload!” But those who are standing by interpose, and 
say, “You do not believe in chemistry; you do not believe 
in civil government; you do not believe in architecture!” 
I preach Christ as every man’s Saviour; as his strength; 


41s 

420 

425 

430 

435 

440 

445 


84 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


450 as his bread; as his water; as his life; as his joy; as his hope. 
I say everything is trash as compared with that; and men 
exclaim, “Loose theology! He does not care for the church, 
nor for ordinances, nor for the Trinity, nor for the atonement, 
nor for a plan of salvation!” 

455 When men are starving it is not the time to talk of ships, 
of navigation, or of what government may or may not do: 
it is the time to talk of wheat and meat. Corn and beef are 
better than politics under such circumstances. 

Now, when men are under heavy burdens that they do not 
460 know how to bear, is there a Burden-Bearer anywhere? 
When men are unillumined, is there any Light in this 
world ? When men are in trouble, and cannot see their way 
out of it, and they say, in despair, “The day of my birth be 
cursed, and the day of my death be blessed!” is there any 
465 Hope that shines forth and makes the darkness of the future 
bright as a morning star in the horizon ? Is there anything 
in the Lord Jesus Christ that you need? Is there any¬ 
thing for you, who are sorrowing for your companion that has 
been smitten down; for you, whose affection has been disap- 
470 pointed; for you, who are heartsick from hope deferred, 
for you, whose affairs are all in a tangle; for you, whose 
prosperity is like pasture-ground which the plow has turned 
upside down to prepare for new and unknown harvests? 
Is there anything in him for me—for me, that am poor; 
475 for me, that am desolate; for me, that am stripped and 
peeled of all that makes life desirable; for me, that am 
smitten and cast down; for me, that am struggling to perform 
a task that I do not understand; for me, who am aiming at 
that which I cannot reach; for me, whose days are well- 
480 nigh spent; for me, a little child; for me, a boy at school; 
for me, an apprentice; for me, a pauper; for me, that am 
to be hanged ? That is the soul’s cry through life. 

What does it matter to me that the Jews had a system, 
that the Greeks had a system, or that the Romans had a 


BEECHER: “WHAT IS CHRIST TO ME?” 85 


system? Let their systems go to the dust. What do I 485 
care for such things when I am rolling in pain that I cannot 
endure? Then, if there is anything in the universe which 
will relieve my suffering, I want it. 

Have you ever had a fever? Have you ever tossed 
all night with hateful dreams, and waked in the morning 490 
parched and well-nigh perishing with thirst? Have you 
ever felt as though you would give the world for a drop of 
water? Go to a person who is in that condition, and read 
to him the Midsummer-Night’s Dream, or Romeo and Juliet. 
What does he care for them? “Oh, for a drop of water!” 495 
is his cry. Read to him Bacon’s Maxims. What does he 
care for Bacon’s Maxims? He cries, “Water!” Read to 
him the most exquisite literature the world has known. He 
will not listen. “Give me water! Give me water!” he 
says. The whole sum of his being is concentrated in that 500 
one want, and it dominates. The way to give him other 
things is to supply first that overmastering want. 

When men are in their sins, and they wander, wayward, 
in the dark, longing for something—they know not what, 
Christ says, “I am the Way; I am the Light.” Art thou 505 
the way out of this tangle? Art thou my unclouded fight 
which no storm can dissipate or blow out? When men are 
hungering, art thou, Jesus, the soul’s food ? Is there some¬ 
thing in God as interpreted by Christ that shall meet every 
want in the human soul ? Yes, there is just that. 510 

Are you a little child? The glory of the incarnation is 
that Christ was a little child. There is no little child in 
whose path Jesus has not walked, or one that was exactly like 
it. He knows every child’s experience—his hopes and fears; 
his expectations and disappointments; his pleasures and 515 
pains; his joys and sorrows. It may not help him that he 
knows your troubles; but it helps you to know that he knows 
them. 


86 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


Christ was in his early life subject to his parents. Even 
520 after he was filled with the divine afflatus, so that he disputed 
with the doctors in the temple, he went back home, and sub¬ 
mitted himself to the control of his father and mother. With 
conscious power and glory, he put himself under the direction 
of those who were inferior to him, willingly and cheerfully. 
525 If you are toiling in an unrequited way in life, think how 
Christ labored. Old Galilee was mixed up with all manner 
of detritus. People from every nation under the Roman 
banner had flocked thither. A vast cosmopolitan popula¬ 
tion was gathered there. And there Christ was brought 
530 up as a Jew. He learned the trade which his father followed. 
He worked at the bench. When a young man, by laboring 
with his hands he scraped up a small competence with which 
to buy his daily bread. Every man that toils, then, has in 
Christ one that has been like him. 

535 Are you turmoiled and driven hither and thither, not 
knowing where to lay your head ? The Son of man had not 
where to lay his head. The birds had nests; the foxes had 
holes; the very sea was allowed to rest at times; but Jesus 
almost never rested. By day and by night, and everywhere, 
540 he was a man of sorrow and of toil. 

Are you abiding at home? Are you happy and con¬ 
tented ? There are no sweeter pictures in the Bible than those 
which portray the joys of Christ at the festivities which he 
attended, and in the thousand ways in which he made others 
545 happy. In creating so much happiness he could not but have 
been happy himself. 

Christ stands for men in all their relations. He stands 
for them in their crimes. I do not know why it should be so, 
but it seems to me there is nothing else—not even the scene 
550 of the cross itself—that touches me so much as the incident 
which took place when he came back to Capernaum and was 
surrounded by rich men, and was invited to go to a feast in a 
nobleman’s house. As he entered, a crowd, among whom 


BEECHER: “WHAT IS CHRIST TO ME?” 87 


were publicans and harlots, pressed in after him, and actually 
sat dcwn at the table with him, unbidden, and ate with him. 555 
Those who were looking on stood, and pointed, and said, 
“See, he eateth with publicans and sinners!” Eating with 
another is a sign of hospitality and friendship and fidelity. 
Christ’s conduct toward these poor creatures awoke a ray 
of hope in their most desperate depravity. It is this light 560 
which dawns in the midnight of the human soul that touches 
me. That which affects me is the voice that goes far down 
to the depths below where hope usually goes, and says to the 
child of sin and sorrow, “There is salvation for you.” God 
does not cast away even the most depraved. The man who 565 
lies right by the lion’s head; the man who is half brother to 
the wolf; the man who slimes his way with the worm—even 
he has One who thinks kindly of him, and says to him, 
“Thee, too, have I called; for thee I have a refuge and a 
remedy.” 570 

There was but one single class that Christ had no mercy 
for, and that was the class who had no mercy for themselves. 

I mean those men whose intellects were cultivated, whose 
imaginations were cultivated, whose moral sense was culti¬ 
vated, but who turned all their talents into selfishness. They 575 
were dissipated by the top of the brain. Christ did not dis¬ 
regard dissipation of the passions; he regarded it as evil in the 
extreme; but he regarded the dissipation of the top of the 
brain as worse still. He said to those proud proprietaries, 
those men who had outward and not inward morals, those 580 
men who knew so much, and used their knowledge to oppress 
others with; who were so scrupulous about themselves, but 
did not care for anybody else—he said to them, pointing at 
those miserable harlots and those extortionate publicans, 
“You never do such things as they are guilty of doing, oh 585 
no; and yet they have a better chance of going to heaven 
than you have.” 


88 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


Even in the case of Zaccheus, when he said, “Lord, I am 
trying to do right,” Christ said, “Come down; I will go to 
590 thy house.” There was not a creature on earth who felt the 
need of a Saviour to whom Christ did not at once open the 
door of his heart; and the beauty of it was that Christ’s 
heart stood open for all that were behind him, or before 
him, or on either side of him. When Christ came from the 
595 eternal sphere he brought with him as much of God as he 
could put into the conditions which he was to assume; as 
much as the human mind could comprehend; and though he 
laid aside that part of his being by reason of the circumstances 
in which he was to be placed, yet having entered upon our 
600 estate, when he spake, God spake; and when he showed 
mercy, it was an exhibition of God’s mercy. 

Now, have any of you, interested in the study of the texts 
of Scripture, considered the subject of your own want; of 
your own hope; of your own fear; of your own strivings; 
605 of your own unworthiness; of your own longings of soul; and 
have you said, “Lord, being what I am, what canst thou do 
for me?” Have you said, “What canst thou do for one who 
is slow and lethargic? What canst thou do for one who is 
always behind his conception?” There is a Christ for just 
610 such an one as that. Have you said, “Lord, what canst 
thou do for a fiery nature ?” There is a divine power for 
those that are fiery. Have you said, “Lord, what canst 
thou do for me that am proud and hard ?” There is a God 
of love and mercy for such as you are. Have you ever said, 
615 “What canst thou do for dispositions that are cold and sel¬ 
fish ?” There is a medicine for just such dispositions. Have 
you said, “Lord, what canst thou do for those who are self- 
seeking ?” There is provision for them, too. 

Oh come, ye that are weary and heavy laden; oh come, 
620 all ye that are sinful; oh come, all ye who feel the burden of 
your sin: to you, to-day, I preach a risen Christ. I preach 
to-day no plan and no atonement, although there is a plan 


BEECHER: “WHAT IS CHRIST TO ME?” 89 

and there is an atonement. But that which you want is a 
living Saviour. What you want is a person that your mind 
can think about as you think about your father and mother, 
your brother and sister, your friend, your physician, your 
deliverer, your leader, your guide. 

Such is Christ. Such is he—ready to be over against 
every want. Being the Alpha and Omega, the beginning 
and the end, the Alphabet, he is the sum of the whole liter¬ 
ature. He is the highest of all. He is broader than the 
earth. He is universal in sympathy. He says to every man, 
“I am the Sun of righteousness.” 

What art thou, O Sun? Thou that bringest back from 
captivity the winter day; thou that teachest all the dead 
things in the earth to find themselves again; thou that dost 
drive the night away from the weary eyes of watchers; thou 
that art the universal bounty-giver; thou that dost travel 
endlessly carrying benefactions immeasurable, illimitable, 
beyond want and conception of want—thou art the figure 
that represents God; and God is as much greater in bounty 
and mercy and power than thou art as spirit is greater than 
matter. For the sun is a spark. Around about the brow 
of him that reigns are suns sparkling as jewels in a crown. 
What, then, is that God who is accustomed to speak of him¬ 
self to us as the Sun of righteousness that arises with healing 
in his beams ? 

If there are those who have been accustomed to judge 
of their hope by their life alone; by whether they are living 
right or wrong; by whether they are living in a constant state 
of self-condemnation, and under a perpetual state of bondage 
to their conscience or not then they only know one thing— 
that they are striving , with a greater or less degree of earnest¬ 
ness. And they mourn, saying, “I am so insincere! I so 
often promise and do not fulfill!” Why, that is to be man. 

The doctor has come. He has taken charge of the 
patient that has been near to the border of death. The crisis 


625 

630 

63 s 

640 

645 

650 

655 


go 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


is past; and he says to the child, “ You are going to get well. 
I have got the upper hand of the disease.” The next day, 
660 in the afternoon, the physician comes again; and the poor 
child lifts up its hands and says, “Doctor, I know that I am 
not going to get well. Not long after you went away, 
yesterday, a pain shot through me here; and I am sure I am 
not going to get well. I cannot sleep; I am very, very tired; 
665 and I can see no hope.” “Well,” says the doctor, “if you 
did not have pain you would not be sick. To be sick is to 
have poor digestion; it is to have that kingdom of the devil, 
the liver, the scene of all manner of impish tricks; it is to have 
various signs of weakness and disease; but I have begun to 
670 get the ascendancy, and you are going to recover. To-day 
you may walk across the room.” The child walks feebly, 
and is faint, and goes back to the couch, and says, “ It is just 
as I thought—I am not going to get well.” The very weak¬ 
ness clouds the sight of a beginning of strength, and makes 
675 hope hang heavily. The despondency is a portion of the 
disease. 

So it is with people in spiritual things; and oh, if the con¬ 
tinuity of your fight against evil, and your salvation, depended 
upon your strength and fidelity, you might feel discouraged; 
680 but who is He that has called you ? Who is He that has said, 
“I carry your lineaments on the palm of my hand, as one 
carries the portrait of a friend in his hand, and you are ever 
in my memory. A mother may forget her sucking child, 
but I will not forget thee.” The eternal God, who bears up 
685 the orbs of the universe, with whom is no weariness, no 
variableness, no shadow of turning, has bowed down his 
love, and has shown himself to be God, in that he has had com¬ 
passion on you; and your hope lies in him. It is because of 
the fidelity and grandeur of his continuing love, and not 
690 because you are virtuous and strong and skillful and wise, 
that you are to hope. 


BEECHER: “WHAT IS CHRIST TO ME?” 


9i 


Sleep, child, though the storm rages. But suppose the 
little passenger, tossed about by the waves on the good 
staunch ship, should go on deck to see if it could not do some¬ 
thing? What can a child do with the Atlantic Ocean? 
What can a child do with a scowling, howling northern 
storm ? What can a child do with a ship that he does not 
understand ? But there is the old sturdy captain, who is gruff 
to the passengers, and gruffer yet to nature. He weathers 
the storm, and brings the ship safe into harbor. Then, when 
all the smiles and glory of the continent seem to light up the 
great bay, how grateful everybody is! How willing the 
passengers all are to sign a letter congratulating the good 
captain! 

God is the Captain who directs this great world-ship; 
and though he will not always speak when you want him to, 
yet he carries you, night and day, safely on the stormy sea; 
and ere long he will bring you safely into port; and when he 
has brought you in, and you see him as he is, no word can 
describe, no experience can interpret, nothing that has 
entered into the heart of man can conceive, the rapture and 
joy which we shall feel. When we are lifted up out of this 
lower realm, and we stand in the celestial sphere and behold 
our Deliverer, we shall be satisfied. O, word of wonder, to 
one wandering through the earth among men, and finding 
no home— satisfied! We do not yet know what that means; 
but you and I and all of us are rushing fast toward the day 
when we shall stand, without spot or blemish, and shall 
see him as he is, and shall be like him. We shall be satis¬ 
fied; and that will be heaven! 


69s 

700 

705 

710 

715 

720 


92 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


GENERAL NOTES 

I. Impression.—This sermon bears the clear impres¬ 
sion of oral and oratorical factors. We imagine the quiet 
beginning, the frequent rush of speech as the delivery 
gathered power, the rapid work of the stenographer, 
and such revision as would be given somewhat hastily 
by a preacher who was not primarily interested in the 
finish of his literary style. This sermon is to be studied 
carefully when we seek to determine later the differences 
between the sermon and the oration. Therefore, report 
on this question: How does this discourse differ from 
an oration? 

II. Analysis.—There are few indications of sermon 
divisions. (See p. 77, 1 . 214; p. 77, 1 . 232; p. 82, 1 . 394.) 

Criticize the following analysis: 

Introduction (p. 71, 1 . 1, to p. 72, 1 . 44) 

I. How Christ has been presented to men (p. 72, 1 . 45, to 

p. 77,1.213) 

A. Vivid faith of disciples (p. 72, 1 . 45, to p. 73, 1 . 75) 

B. Jewish view (p. 73, 1 . 75, to p. 74, 1 . 118) 

C. Greek view (p. 74, 1 . 119, to p. 75, 1 . 139) 

D. Roman view (p. 75, 1 . 140, to p. 75, 1 . 155) 

E. Medieval view (p. 75, 1 . 156, to p. 76, 1 . 190) 

F. Protestant view (p. 76, 1 . 191, to p. 77, 1 . 213) 

II. Christ studied and known from personal relations to 

believer as very God (p. 77, 1 . 214, to p. 85, 1 . 510) 

A. He is God to our thought (p. 77, 1 . 214, to p. 80, 
1. 342 ) 

B. He reveals God as love (p. 80, 1 . 343, to p. 82, 1 . 393) 

C. He is Savior from sin into righteousness, (p. 82, 1 . 394, 
to p. 85,1. 510) 


BEECHER: “WHAT IS CHRIST TO ME?’ 


93 


III. Specific applications (p. 85, 1 . 511, to p. 90, 1 . 691) 

A. Children (p. 85, 1. 511, to p. 86, 1 . 524) 

B. Unrequited toilers (p. 86, 1 . 525, to p. 86, 1 . 540) 

C. Home-makers (p. 86, 1. 541 to p. 86, 1. 546) 

D. Evildoers (p. 86, 1. 547, to p. 87, 1. 570) 

E. Those without mercy on themselves (p. 87, 1 . 571, 
to p. 88,1. 601) 

F. All sorts of hearers (p. 88, 1 . 602, to p. 90, 1 . 691) 
Conclusion (p. 91, 1. 692, to p. 91,1. 720) 

Study the applications in Brooks and Beecher care¬ 
fully. Which is the better arrangement? Do either 
or both show signs of disorder in this point? 

III. Title.—Note the personal factor, to me. Does 
it mean, to Mr. Beecher personally? Or, to any par¬ 
ticular hearer? Or has it no personal reference? Does 
this add to the interest of the title? Or would it make 
the title less attractive? (Who cares what anything 
means to someone else? Or does that depend on who 
that someone else is?) How often should personal 
factors be introduced into a subject or title? 

IV. Text.—This is a case of the use of double texts. 
The central truth in the first is said to be more fully 
explained in the second. Do you feel that this is true? 
Or did Mr. Beecher force a complementary meaning 
upon the texts? What advantages do you see in double 
texts ? What principles do you suggest governing their 
use? 

V. Subject.—This is not specifically stated. From 
the three questions (p. 72,11. 38-44), frame a subject. 

VI. Proposition.—If you do not find a formal 
proposition, state one from page 82, lines 394-407. 


94 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


VII. Introduction.—It occupies about one-fourteenth 
of the entire sermon. Is this about the right length? 
Compare with the introduction in Brooks. Which 
shows the greater care in preparation? Which really 
arrests the attention and creates interest more effectively? 

VIII. Conclusion.—Do you feel the moving oratorical 
appeal of the conclusion? How does the use of the figure 
of the ship and the captain enhance its power? 

XII. Transitions.—Of the fifty-four paragraphs in 
this sermon thirty-three have no word or phrase used 
specifically to effect the transfer of thought. Compare 
Bushnell and Brooks carefully on this point. Note the 
ways in which the orator is able to effect the transition 
of thought by the change of position or tone, the use of 
gesture, or other devices, which accomplish for the 
hearers what is attained for the reader by the use of 
literary forms. What might be a literary fault may 
therefore be overcome by the orator. 

XIV. Style.—Here we have an excellent illustration 
of the difference between the carefully wrought and 
finished style of the preacher who has written his sermon 
and the preacher who uses the ex tempore method. 

Study carefully the first paragraph. Read the third 
sentence (p. 71, 11 . 8-15). Where is the corresponding 
term in the comparison, “as in all sciences”? Did Mr. 
Beecher get lost in this sentence? Does this indicate 
slipshod revision of the reported sermon? Now study 
the fifth sentence (p. 71,11. 17-23), and see if it gathers 
up anything that was lost in the third. What is the 
relation of the third and fifth sentences? Are they 
redundant? Re-write the first paragraph, changing it 


BEECHER: “WHAT IS CHRIST TO ME?” 95 


in any way that will preserve the thoughts presented in 
their clearness and force but aiming at greater concise¬ 
ness. 

Note the use of such words as detritus (p. 76, 1 . 203; 
p. 86, 1. 527); basilar , coronal (p. 78, 1. 268); slimes his 
way (p. 87, 1. 567) (is slime a verb?); divine afflatus 
(p. 86, 1. 520). 

Note how (p. 78, 11 . 252-63) in the rush of his 
thought, Beecher piles up ideas swiftly. This is a 
characteristic of the fervid oratorical style. It is not 
so much logical or restrained as the written style would 
demand; it depends for its effectiveness upon a forceful 
speaking person to carry it through. Compare also 
page 79, lines 308-10. Are these nouns well chosen 
and arranged, or did they simply rush out under the 
pressure of the moment? Compare them with Brooks 
(p. 44, 11 . 48-51). From this study write such con¬ 
clusions as seem to you valid concerning style in preach¬ 
ing. 

XV. General observations.—Is this an “ evangel¬ 
istic” sermon even if it was not preached to those who 
never had heard the gospel? How large a factor in the 
sermon is the “personal message”? Note the personal 
factors brought forth: his experience of Christ; the 
steamer “J ava >” on which he was apparently a passenger; 
the intimate knowledge of men shown in the groups to 
whom the application is made; the miniature of his 
mother. How is this consistent with the personal 
factor in the title, already noted? Within what limits 
may personal items be brought into a sermon? 


SERMON STUDY V 


CHALMERS, “THE EXPULSIVE POWER OF A 
NEW AFFECTION” 

INTRODUCTORY NOTES 

Thomas Chalmers, 1 founder and first leader of the 
Free Church of Scotland, was born March 17, 1780, and 
died May 30, 1847. He came from a family of high- 
minded and strict Scotch Calvinists. He was keenly 
interested in mathematics as a student at St. Andrews 
University. As a result of careful study into the 
doctrines of the Christian religion, he became one of the 
great preachers and pastors of modern times. His 
great parish work was done in Glasgow, where he devel¬ 
oped a system of education and relief for the poor 
which escaped the evils of state charity and brought 
personal relations into the administration of this work. 
Later Dr. Chalmers became professor of moral philosophy 
and theology in St. Andrews University. He also led in 
the separation of the Free Church of Scotland from the 
General Assembly. Our interest in his many-sided 
activities is concerned with his preaching, of which the 
following sermon is an example. It may be found in 
his published works. 

The suggestion out of which this sermon grew is most 
interesting. Dr. W. G. Blaikie says that Dr. Chalmers 
was once riding on top of a stagecoach when he suddenly 
saw the driver, without any apparent reason, apply the 

1 The l is silent; pronounced Cha-mers. 

96 


CHALMERS: “A NEW AFFECTION 


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lash to one of the horses. In reply to a question as to 
his action, the driver told Dr. Chalmers that this horse 
had formed the habit of bolting at this particular spot, 
evidently being shy of some harmless object; so the 
driver thought he would give the horse something else 
to occupy his mind at that moment. This set Dr. 
Chalmers to thinking on the principle involved and out 
of it he wrought this sermon, showing how, by occupying 
a man’s mind, the love of God would expel old evil 
desires. 1 

Dr. Chalmers, in sharp contrast with the habit of 
Mr. Beecher, wrote his sermons fully and read them in 
the pulpit. Yet he was able to handle his manuscript 
with such skill that he put into the delivery of his sermon 
all the passion and moving energy of the orator speaking 
extemporaneously. It will be well to remember that he 
preached to congregations of Scotch people, who are 
probably the world’s best “sermon tasters,” and who 
demand a high standard of reasoning wedded to dignified 
oratorical fervor in their preachers. 

1 Dargan, History of Preaching , II, 495. 


9 8 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


THE EXPULSIVE POWER OF A NEW AFFECTION 

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any 
man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.—I John 2:15. 

There are two ways in which a practical moralist may 
attempt to displace from the human heart its love of the 
world—either by a demonstration of the world’s vanity, so 
as that the heart shall be prevailed upon simply to withdraw 
5 its regards from an object that is not worthy of it; or, by 
setting forth another object, even God, as more worthy of 
its attachment, so as that the heart shall be prevailed upon 
not to resign an old affection, which shall have nothing to 
succeed it, but to exchange an old affection for a new one. 
10 My purpose is to show, that from the constitution of our 
nature, the former method is altogether incompetent and 
ineffectual—and that the latter method will alone suffice for 
the rescue and recovery of the heart from the wrong affection 
that domineers over it. After having accomplished this 
15 purpose, I shall attempt a few practical observations. 

Love may be regarded in two different conditions. The 
first is, when its object is at a distance, and then it becomes 
love in a state of desire. The second is, when its object is in 
possession, and then it becomes love in a state of indulgence. 
20 Under the impulse of desire, man feels himself urged onward 
in some path or pursuit of activity for its gratification. The 
faculties of his mind are put into busy exercise. In the steady 
direction of one great and engrossing interest, his attention 
is recalled from the many reveries into which it might other- 
25 wise have wandered; and the powers of his body are forced 
away from an indolence in which it else might have lan¬ 
guished; and that time is crowded with occupation, which 
but for some object of keen and devoted ambition, might 
have driveled along in successive hours of weariness and 
30 distaste—and though hope does not always enliven, and 
success does not always crown this career of exertion, yet 
in the midst of this very variety, and with the alternations 


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99 


of occasional disappointment, is the machinery of the whole 
man kept in a sort of congenial play, and upholden in that 
tone and temper which are most agreeable to it. Insomuch, 35 
that if through the extirpation of that desire which forms 
the originating principle of all this movement, the machinery 
were to stop, and to receive no impulse from another desire 
substituted in its place, the man would be left with all his 
propensities to action in a state of most painful and unnatural 40 
abandonment. A sensitive being suffers, and is in violence 
if, after having thoroughly rested from his fatigue, or been 
relieved from his pain, he continue in possession of powers 
without any excitement to these powers; if he possess a 
capacity of desire without having an object of desire; or if he 45 
have a spare energy upon his person, without a counterpart, 
and without a stimulus to call it into operation. The misery 
of such a condition is often realized by him who is retired 
from business, or who is retired from law, or who is even 
retired from the occupations of the chase, and of the gaming- 50 
table. Such is the demand of our nature for an object in 
pursuit, that no accumulation of previous success can extin¬ 
guish it—and thus it is, that the most prosperous merchant, 
and the most victorious general, and the most fortunate 
gamester, when the labour of their respective vocations has 55 
come to a close, are often found to languish in the midst of 
all their acquisitions, as if out of their kindred and rejoicing 
element. It is quite in vain with such a constitutional 
appetite for employment in man, to attempt cutting away 
from him the spring or the principle of one employment, 60 
without providing him with another. The whole heart and 
habit will rise in resistance against such an undertaking. 

The else unoccupied female, who spends the hours of every 
evening at some play of hazard, knows as well as you, that 
pecuniary gain, or the honorable triumph of a successful 65 
contest, are altogether paltry. It is not such a demonstra¬ 
tion of vanity as this that will force her away from her dear 


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PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


and delightful occupation. The habit cannot so be dis¬ 
placed, as to leave nothing but a negative and cheerless 
70 vacancy behind it—though it may so be supplemented as 
to be followed up by another habit of employment, to which 
the power of some new affection has constrained her. It is 
willingly suspended, for example, on any single evening, 
should the time that [is] wont to be allotted to gaming, require 
75 to be spent on the preparations of an approaching assembly. 

The ascendant power of a second affection will do, what 
no exposition, however forcible, of the folly and worthless¬ 
ness of the first, ever could effectuate. And it is the same in 
the great world. You never will be able to arrest any of its 
80 leading pursuits, by a naked demonstration of their vanity. 
It is quite in vain to think of stopping one of these pursuits 
in any way else, but by stimulating to another. In attempt¬ 
ing to bring a worldly man, intent and busied with the 
prosecution of his objects, to a dead stand, you have not 
85 merely to encounter the charm which he annexes to these 
objects—but you have to encounter the pleasure which he 
feels in the very prosecution of them. It is not enough, then, 
that you dissipate the charm, by your moral, and eloquent, 
and affecting exposure of its illusiveness. You must address 
90 to the eye of his mind another object, with a charm powerful 
enough to dispossess the first of its influence, and to engage 
him in some other prosecution as full of interest, and hope, 
and congenial activity, as the former. It is this which stamps 
an impotency on all moral and pathetic declamation about 
95 the insignificance of the world. A man will no more consent 
to the misery of being without an object, because that 
object is a trifle, or of being without a pursuit, because that 
pursuit terminates in some frivolous or fugitive acquirement, 
than he will voluntarily submit himself to the torture, because 
100 that torture is to be of short duration. If to be without 
desire and without exertion altogether is a state of violence 
and discomfort, then the present desire, with its correspond- 


CHALMERS: “A NEW AFFECTION” 


IOI 


ent train of exertion, is not to be got rid of simply by destroy¬ 
ing it. It must be by substituting another desire, and 
another line or habit of exertion in its place—and the most 105 
effectual way of withdrawing the mind from one object, is 
not by turning it away upon desolate and unpeopled vacancy 
—but by presenting to its regards another object still more 
alluring. 

These remarks apply not merely to love considered in no 
its state of desire for an object not yet obtained. They 
apply also to love considered in its state of indulgence, or 
placid gratification, with an object already in possession. 

It is seldom that any of our tastes are made to disappear 
by a mere process of natural extinction. At least, it is very 115 
seldom that this is done through the instrumentality of 
reasoning. It may be done by excessive pampering—but 
it is almost never done by the mere force of mental deter¬ 
mination. But what cannot be thus destroyed, may be 
dispossessed—and one taste may be made to give way to 120 
another, and to lose its power entirely as the reigning affec¬ 
tion of the mind. It is thus, that the boy ceases, at length, 
to be the slave of his appetite, but it is because a manlier 
taste has now brought it into subordination—and that the 
youth ceases to idolize pleasure, but it is because the idol of 125 
wealth has become the stronger and gotten the ascendancy— 
and that even the love of money ceases to have the mastery 
over the heart of many a thriving citizen, but it is because 
drawn into the whirl of city politics, another affection has 
been wrought into his moral system, and he is now lorded 130 
over by the love of power. There is not one of these trans¬ 
formations in which the heart is left without an object. Its 
desire for one particular object may be conquered; but as 
to its desire for having some one object or another, this is 
unconquerable. Its adhesion to that on which it has fas- 135 
tened the preference of its regards cannot willingly be over¬ 
come by the rending away of a simple separation. It can 


102 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


be done only by the application of something else, to which 
it may feel the adhesion of a still stronger and more power- 
140 ful preference. Such is the grasping tendency of the human 
heart, that it must have a something to lay hold of—and 
which, if wrested away without the substitution of another 
something in its place, would leave a void and a vacancy as 
painful to the mind as hunger is to the natural system. It 
145 may be dispossessed of one object, or of any, but it cannot 
be desolated of all. Let there be a breathing and a sensitive 
heart, but without a liking and without affinity to any of 
the things that are around it, and in a state of cheerless 
abandonment, it would be alive to nothing but the burden 
150 of its own consciousness, and feel it to be intolerable. It 
would make no difference to its owner, whether he dwelt in 
the midst of a gay and goodly world, or placed afar beyond 
the outskirts of creation, he dwelt a solitary unit in dark and 
unpeopled nothingness. The heart must have something to 
155 cling to—and never, by its own voluntary consent, will it 
so denude itself of all its attachments, that there shall net 
be one remaining object that can draw or solicit it. 

The misery of a heart thus bereft of all relish for that 
which [is] wont to minister enjoyment is strikingly exempli- 
160 fied in those, who, satiated with indulgence, have been so 
belaboured, as it were, with the variety and poignancy of 
the pleasurable sensations they have experienced, that they 
are at length fatigued out of all capacity for sensation what¬ 
ever. The disease of ennui is more frequent in the French 
165 metropolis, where amusement is more exclusively the occupa¬ 
tion of higher classes, than it is in the British metropolis, 
where the longings of the heart are more diversified by the 
resources of business and politics. There are the votaries 
of fashion, who, in this way, have at length become the victims 
170 of fashionable excess—in whom the very multitude of their 
enjoyments has at last extinguished their power of enjoy- 
ment—who, with the gratifications of art and nature at com- 


CHALMERS: “A NEW AFFECTION 


103 


mand, now look upon all that is around them with an eye 
of tastelessness—who, plied with the delights of sense and 
of splendour even to weariness, and incapable of higher 175 
delights, have come to the end of all their perfection, and 
like Solomon of old, found it to be vanity and vexation. 

The man whose heart has thus been turned into a desert, 
can vouch for the insupportable languor which must ensue, 
when one affection is thus plucked away from the bosom, 180 
without another to replace it. It is not necessary that a man 
receive pain from anything, in order to become miserable. 

It is barely enough that he looks with distaste to everything— 
and in that asylum which is the respository of minds out of 
joint, and where the organ of feeling as well as the organ of 185 
intellect has been impaired, it is not in the cell of loud and 
frantic outcries where we shall meet with the acme of 
mental suffering. But that is the individual who outpeers 
in wretchedness all his fellows, who, throughout the whole 
expanse of nature and society, meets not an object that has 190 
at all the power to detain or to interest him; who neither in 
earth beneath, nor in heaven above, knows of a single charm 
to which his heart can send forth one desirous or responding 
movement; to whom the world, in his eye a vast and empty 
desolation, has left him nothing but his own consciousness 195 
to feed upon—dead to all that is without him, and alive to 
nothing but to the load of his own torpid and useless 
existence. 

It will now be seen, perhaps, why it is that the heart 
keeps by its present affections with so much tenacity—when 200 
the attempt is, to do them away by a mere process of extirpa¬ 
tion. It will not consent to be so desolated. The strong 
man, whose dwelling-place is there, may be compelled to give 
way to another occupier—but unless another stronger than 
he has power to dispossess and to succeed him, he will keep 205 
his present lodgment unviolable. The heart would revolt 
against its own emptiness. It could not bear to be so left 


104 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


in a state of waste and cheerless insipidity. The moralist 
who tries such a process of dispossession as this upon the 
210 heart is thwarted at every step by the recoil of its own mech¬ 
anism. You have all heard that Nature abhors a vacuum. 
Such at least is the nature of the heart, that though the room 
which is in it may change one inmate for another, it cannot 
be left void without the pain of most intolerable suffering. 
2is It is not enough then to argue the folly of an existing affec¬ 
tion. It is not enough, in the terms of a forcible or an affect¬ 
ing demonstration, to make good the evanescence of its object. 
It may not even be enough to associate the threats and terrors 
of some coming vengeance, with the indulgence of it. The 
220 heart may still resist the every application, by obedience to 
which it would finally be conducted to a state so much at 
war with all its appetities as that of downright inanition. So 
to tear away an affection from the heart, as to leave it bare 
of all its regards and of all its preferences, were a hard and 
225 hopeless undertaking—and it would appear as if the alone 
powerful engine of dispossession were to bring the mastery 
of another affection to bear upon it. 

We know not a more sweeping interdict upon the affec¬ 
tions of Nature, than that which is delivered by the Apostle 
230 in the verse before us. To bid a man into whom there has 
not yet entered the great and ascendant influence of the 
principle of regeneration, to bid him withdraw his love from 
all the things that are in the world, is to bid him give up all 
the affections that are in his heart. The world is the all of 
235 a natural man. He has not a taste, nor a desire, that points 
not to a something placed within the confines of its visible 
horizon. He loves nothing above it, and he cares for nothing 
beyond it; and to bid him love not the world, is to pass a 
sentence of expulsion on all the inmates of his bosom. To 
240 estimate the magnitude and the difficulty of such a surrender, 
let us only think that it were just as arduous to prevail on 
him not to love wealth, which is but one of the things in the 


CHALMERS: “A NEW AFFECTION 


105 


world, as to prevail on him to set wilful fire to his own prop¬ 
erty. This he might do with sore and painful reluctance, 
if he saw that the salvation of his life hung upon it. But this 245 
he would do willingly, if he saw that a new property of ten¬ 
fold value was instantly to emerge from the wreck of the old 
one. In this case there is something more than the mere 
displacement of an affection. There is the overbearing of 
one affection by another. But to desolate his heart of all 250 
love for the things of the world, without the substitution of 
any love in its place, were to him a process of as unnatural 
violence, as to destroy all the things he has in the world, 
and give him nothing in their room. So that, if to love not 
the world be indispensable to one’s Christianity, then the 255 
crucifixion of the old man is not too strong a term to mark 
that transition in his history, when all old things are done 
away, and all things become new. 

We hope that by this time, you understand the impotency 
of a mere demonstration of this world’s insignificance. Its 260 
sole practical effect, if it had any, would be to leave the heart 
in a state which to every heart is insupportable, and that is 
a mere state of nakedness and negation. You may remember 
the fond and unbroken tenacity with which your heart has 
often recurred to pursuits, over the utter frivolity of which 265 
it sighed and wept but yesterday. The arithmetic of your 
short-lived days may on Sabbath make the clearest impression 
upon your understanding—and from his fancied bed of death, 
may the preacher cause a voice to descend in rebuke and 
mockery on all the pursuits of earthliness—and as he pictures 270 
before you the fleeting generations of men, with the absorb¬ 
ing grave, whither all the joys and interests of the world 
hasten to their sure and speedy oblivion, may you, touched 
and solemnized by his argument, feel for a moment as if on 
the eve of a practical and permanent emancipation from a 275 
scene of so much vanity. But the morrow comes, and the 
business of the world, and the objects of the world, and the 


106 PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 

moving forces of the world come along with it—and the 
machinery of the heart, in virtue of which it must have some- 
280 thing to grasp, or something to adhere to, brings it under a 
kind of moral necessity to be actuated just as before—and in 
utter repulsion towards a state so unkindly as that of being 
frozen out both of delight and of desire, does it feel all the 
warmth and the urgency of its wonted solicitations—nor 
285 in the habit and history of the whole man, can we detect so 
much as one symptom of the new creature—so that the 
church, instead of being to him a school of obedience, has 
been a mere sauntering place for the luxury of a passing and 
theatrical emotion; and the preaching which is mighty to 
290 compel the attendance of multitudes, which is mighty to still 
and solemnize the hearers into a kind of tragic sensibility, 
which is mighty in the play of variety and vigour that it can 
keep up around the imagination, is not mighty to the pulling 
down of strong-holds. 

295 The love of the world cannot be expunged by a mere 
demonstration of the world’s worthlessness. But may it not 
be supplanted by the love of that which is more worthy than 
itself ? The heart cannot be prevailed upon to part with the 
world, by a simple act of resignation. But may not the 
300 heart be prevailed upon to admit into its preference another 
who shall subordinate the world, and bring it down from its 
wonted ascendancy? If the throne which is placed there 
must have an occupier, and the tyrant that now reigns has 
occupied it wrongfully, he may not leave a bosom which 
305 would rather detain him, than be left in desolation. But 
may he not give way to the lawful sovereign, appearing with 
every charm that can secure his willing admittance, and 
taking unto himself his great power to subdue the moral 
nature of man, and to reign over it ? In a word, if the way 
310 to disengage the heart from the positive love of one great 
and ascendant object, is to fasten it in positive love to another, 
then it is not by exposing the worthlessness of the former. 


CHALMERS: “A NEW AFFECTION 


107 


but by addressing to the mental eye the worth and excellence 
of the latter, that all old things are to be done away, and all 
things are to become new. 

To obliterate all our present affections, by simply expun¬ 
ging them, and so as to leave the seat of them unoccupied, 
would be to destroy the old character, and to substitute no 
new character in its place. But when they take their depar¬ 
ture upon the ingress of other visitors; when they resign 
their sway to the power and the predominance of new affec¬ 
tions; when, abandoning the heart to solitude, they merely 
give place to a successor who turns it into as busy a residence 
of desire, and interest, and expectation as before—there is 
nothing in all this to thwart or to overbear any of the laws 
of our sentient nature—and we see how, in fullest accordance 
with the mechanism of the heart, a great moral revolution 
may be made to take place upon it. 

This, we trust, will explain the operation of that charm 
which accompanies the effectual preaching of the gospel. 
The love of God, and the love of the world, are two affec¬ 
tions, not merely in a state of rivalship, but in a state of 
enmity—and that so irreconcilable that they cannot dwell 
together in the same bosom. We have already affirmed how 
impossible it were for the heart, by any innate elasticity of 
its own, to cast the world away from it, and thus reduce itself 
to a wilderness. The heart is not so constituted, and the 
only way to dispossess it of an old affection is by the expulsive 
power of a new one. Nothing can exceed the magnitude of 
the required change in a man’s character—when bidden, 
as he is in the New Testament, to love not the world; no, 
nor any of the things that are in the world—for this so 
comprehends all that is dear to him in existence, as to be 
equivalent to a command of self-annihilation. But the same, 
revelation which dictates so mighty an obedience, places within 
our reach as mighty an instrument of obedience. It brings 
for admittance, to the very door of our heart, an affection 


31s 

320 

325 

330 

335 

340 

345 


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PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


which once seated upon its throne, will either subordinate 
every previous inmate, or bid it away. Beside the world, 
350 it places before the eye of the mind, him who made the world, 
and with this peculiarity, which is all its own—that in the 
Gospel do we so behold God, as that we may love God. It 
is there, and there only, where God stands revealed as an 
object of confidence to sinners—and where our desire after 
355 him is not chilled into apathy, by that barrier of human 
guilt which intercepts every approach that is not made to 
him through the appointed Mediator. It is the bringing in 
of this better hope, whereby we draw nigh unto God—and 
to live without hope, is to live without God, and if the heart 
360 be without God, the world will then have all the ascendancy. 
It is God apprehended by the believer as God in Christ, who 
alone can dispost it from this ascendancy. It is when he 
stands dismantled of the terrors which belong to him as an 
offended lawgiver, and when we are enabled by faith, which 
365 is his own gift, to see his glory in the face of Jesus Christ, 
and to hear his beseeching voice, as it protests good will to 
men, and entreats the return of all who will to a full pardon, 
and a gracious acceptance—it is then, that a love paramount 
to the love of the world, and at length expulsive of it, first 
370 arises in the regenerated bosom. It is when released from 
the spirit of bondage, with which love cannot dwell, and 
when admitted into the number of God’s children, through 
the faith that is in Christ Jesus, the spirit of adoption is 
poured upon us—it is then that the heart, brought under the 
375 mastery of one great and predominant affection, is delivered 
from the tyranny of its former desires, in the only way in 
which deliverance is possible. And that faith which is 
revealed to us from heaven, as indispensable to a sinner’s 
justification in the sight of God, is also the instrument of the 
380 greatest of all moral and spiritual achievements on a nature 
dead to the influence, and beyond the reach of every other 
application. 


CHALMERS: “A NEW AFFECTION” 


109 


Thus may we come to perceive what it is that makes the 
most effective kind of preaching. It is not enough to hold 
out to the world’s eye the mirror of its own imperfections. 385 
It is not enough to come forth with a demonstration, however 
pathetic, of the evanescent character of all its enjoyments. 

It is not enough to travel the walk of experience along with 
you, and speak to your own conscience, and your own recol¬ 
lection of the deceitfulness of the heart, and the deceitful- 390 
ness of all that the heart is set upon. There is many a 
bearer of the Gospel message, who has not shrewdness of 
natural discernment enough, and who has not power of 
characteristic description enough, and who has not the 
talent of moral delineation enough, to present you with a 395 
vivid and faithful sketch of the existing follies of society. 

But that very corruption which he has not the faculty of 
representing in its visible details, he may practically be the 
instrument of eradicating in its principle. Let him be but a 
faithful expounder of the gospel testimony—unable as he 400 
may be to apply a descriptive hand to the character of the 
present world; let him but report with accuracy the matter 
which revelation has brought to him from a distant world— 
unskilled as he is in the work of so anatomizing the heart, as 
with the power of a novelist to create a graphical or impressive 405 
exhibition of the worthlessness of its many affections—let 
him only deal in those mysteries of peculiar doctrine, on 
which the best of novelists have thrown the wantonness of 
their derision. He may not be able, with the eye of shrewd 
and satirical observation, to expose to the ready recognition 410 
of his hearers the desires of worldliness—but with the tidings 
of the gospel in commission, he may wield the only engine 
that can extirpate them. He cannot do what some have 
done, when, as if by the hand of a magician, they have 
brought out to view, from the hidden recesses of our nature, 415 
the foibles and lurking appetites which belong to it. But 
he has a truth in his possession, which into whatever heart 


no 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


it enters, will, like the rod of Aaron, swallow up them all— 
and unqualified as he may be, to describe the old man in 
420 all the nicer shading of his natural and constitutional varie¬ 
ties, with him is deposited that ascendant influence under 
which the leading tastes and tendencies of the old man are 
destroyed, and he becomes a new creature in Jesus Christ 
our Lord. 

425 Let us not cease, then, to ply the only instrument of 
powerful and positive operation, to do away from you the 
love of the world. Let us try every legitimate method of 
finding access to your hearts for the love of him who is 
greater than the world. For this purpose, let us, if possible, 
430 clear away that shroud of unbelief which so hides and darkens 
the face of the Deity. Let us insist on his claims to your 
affection—and whether in the shape of gratitude, or in the 
shape of esteem, let us never cease to affirm, that in the whole 
of that wondrous economy, the purpose of which is to reclaim 
435 a sinful world unto himself—he, the God of love, so sets 
himself forth in characters of endearment, that nought but 
faith, and nought but understanding, are wanting, on your 
part, to call forth the love of your hearts back again. 

And here let us advert to the incredulity of a worldly 
440 man; when he brings his own sound and secular experiences 
to bear upon the high doctrines of Christianity—when he 
looks on regeneration as a thing impossible—when feeling as 
he does the obstinacies of his own heart on the side of things 
present, and casting an intelligent eye, much exercised per- 
445 haps in the observation of human life, on the equal obstinacies 
of all who are around him, he pronounces this whole matter 
about the crucifixion of the old man, and the resurrection 
of a new man in his place, to be in downright opposition to all 
that is known and witnessed of the real nature of humanity. 
450 We think that we have seen such men, who, firmly trenched 
in their own vigorous and homebred sagacity, and shrewdly 
regardful of all that passes before them through the week, 


CHALMERS: “A NEW AFFECTION” 


ill 


and upon the scenes of ordinary business, look on that 
transition of the heart by which it gradually dies unto time, 
and awakens in all the life of a new-felt and ever-growing 455 
desire towards God, as a mere Sabbath speculation; and who 
thus, with all their attention engrossed upon the concerns of 
earthliness, continue unmoved, to the end of their days, 
amongst the feelings, and the appetites, and the pursuits of 
earthliness. If the thought of death, and another state of 460 
being after it, comes across them at all, it is not with a change 
so radical as that of being born again, that they ever connect 
the idea of preparation. They have some vague conception 
of its being quite enough that they acquit themselves in 
some decent and tolerable way of their relative obligations; 465 
and that, upon the strength of some such social and domestic 
moralities as are often realized by him into whose heart the 
love of God has never entered, they will be transplanted in 
safety from this world, where God is the Being with whom it 
may almost be said, that they have had nothing to do, to 470 
that world where God is the Being with whom they will have 
mainly and immediately to do throughout all eternity. They 
admit all that is said of the utter vanity of time, when taken 
up with as a resting place. But they resist every applica¬ 
tion made upon the heart of man, with the view of so shift- 475 
ing its tendencies, that it shall not henceforth find, in the 
interests of time, all its rest and all its refreshment. They, 
in fact, regard such an attempt as an enterprise that is 
altogether aerial—and with a tone of secular wisdom, caught 
from the familiarities of every-day experience, do they see a 480 
visionary character in all that is said of setting our affections 
on the things that are above; and of walking by faith; and 
of keeping our hearts in such a love of God as shall shut out 
from them the love of the world; and of having no confidence 
in the flesh; and of so renouncing earthly things as to have 485 
our conversation in heaven. 


112 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


Now, it is altogether worthy of being remarked of those 
men who thus disrelish spiritual Christianity, and, in fact, 
deem it an impractical acquirement, how much of a piece 
490 their incredulity about the demands of Christianity, and their 
incredulity about the doctrines of Christianity, are with one 
another. No wonder that they feel the work of the New 
Testament to be beyond their strength, so long as they hold 
the words of the New Testament to be beneath their atten- 
495 tion. Neither they nor any one else can dispossess the heart 
of an old affection, but by the expulsive power of a new one— 
and, if that new affection be the love of God, neither they 
nor any one else can be made to entertain it, but on such a 
representation of the Deity, as shall draw the heart of the 
500 sinner towards him. Now it is just their unbelief which 
screens from the discernment of their minds this representa¬ 
tion. They do not see the love of God in sending his Son 
into the world. They do not see the expression of his tender¬ 
ness to men, in sparing him not, but giving him up unto the 
505 death for us all. They do not see the sufficiency of the 
atonement or of the sufferings that were endured by him 
who bore the burden that sinners should have borne. They 
do not see the blended holiness and compassion of the God¬ 
head, in that he passed by the transgressions of his creatures, 
510 yet could not pass them by without an expiation. It is a 
mystery to them, how a man should pass to the state of 
godliness from a state of nature—but had they only a believ¬ 
ing view of God manifest in the flesh, this would resolve for 
them the whole mystery of godliness. As it is, they cannot 
515 get quit of their old affections, because they are out of sight 
from all those truths which have influence to raise a new one. 
They are like the children of Israel in the land of Egypt, when 
required to make bricks without straw—they cannot love 
God, while they want the only food which can aliment this 
520 affection in a sinner’s bosom—and however great their errors 
may be both in resisting the demands of the Gospel as imprac- 


CHALMERS: “A NEW AFFECTION 


ticable, and in rejecting the doctrines of the Gospel as inad¬ 
missible, yet there is not a spiritual man (and it is the 
prerogative of him who is spiritual to judge all men) who will 
not perceive that there is a consistency in these errors. 525 

But if there be a consistency in the errors, in like manner 
is there a consistency in the truths which are opposite to 
them. The man who believes in the peculiar doctrines, will 
readily bow to the peculiar demands of Christianity. When 
he is told to love God supremely, this may startle another; 530 
but it will not startle him to whom God has been revealed in 
peace, and in pardon, and in all the freeness of an offered 
reconciliation. When told to shut out the world from his 
heart, this may be impossible with him who has nothing to 
replace it—but not impossible with him, who has found in 535 
God a sure and a satisfying portion. When told to with¬ 
draw his affections from the things that are beneath, this 
were laying an order of self-extinction upon the man, who 
knows not another quarter in the whole sphere of his con¬ 
templation, to which he could transfer them—but it were 540 
not grievous to him whose view has been opened up to the 
loveliness and glory of the things that are above, and can there 
find for every feeling of his soul, a most ample and delighted 
occupation. When told to look not to the things that are 
seen and temporal, this were blotting out the light of all that 545 
is visible from the prospect of him in whose eye there is a 
wall of partition between guilty nature and the joys of 
eternity—but he who believes that Christ hath broken down 
this wall, finds a gathering radiance upon his soul, as he looks 
onwards in faith to the things that are unseen and eternal. 550 
Tell a man to be holy—and how can he compass such a 
performance, when his alone fellowship with holiness is a 
fellowship of despair? It is the atonement of the cross 
reconciling the holiness of the lawgiver with the safety of 
the offender, that hath opened the way for a sanctifying 555 
influence into the sinner’s heart, and he can take a kindred 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


114 

impression from the character of God now brought nigh, and 
now at peace with him. Separate the demand from the 
doctrine, and you have either a system of righteousness that 
560 is impracticable, or a barren orthodoxy. Bring the demand 
and the doctrine together—and the true disciple of Christ 
is able to do the one, through the other strengthening him. 
The motive is adequate to the movement; and the bidden 
obedience of the Gospel is not beyond the measure of his 
565 strength, just because the doctrine of the Gospel is not 
beyond the measure of his acceptance. The shield of faith, 
and the hope of salvation, and the Word of God, and the 
girdle of truth—these are the armour that he has put on; and 
with these the battle is won, and the eminence is reached, 
570 and the man stands on the vantage ground of a new field, 
and a new prospect. The effect is great, but the cause is 
equal to it—and stupendous as this moral resurrection to 
the precepts of Christianity undoubtedly is, there is an 
element of strength enough to give it being and continuance 
575 in the principles of Christianity. 

The object of the Gospel is both to pacify the sinner’s 
conscience, and to purify his heart; and it is of importance 
to observe, that what mars the one of these objects, mars 
the other also. The best way of casting out an impure 
580 affection is to admit a pure one; and by the love of what is 
good, to expel the love of what is evil. Thus it is, that the 
freer the Gospel, the more sanctifying is the Gospel; and 
the more it is received as a doctrine of grace, the more will 
it be felt as a doctrine according to godliness. This is one 
585 of the secrets of the Christian life, that the more a man holds 
of God as a pensioner, the greater is the payment of service 
that he renders back again. On the tenure of “ Do this and 
live,” a spirit of fearfulness is sure to enter; and the jealousies 
of a legal bargain chase away all confidence from the inter- 
590 course between God and man; and the creature striving to 
be square and even with his Creator, is, in fact, pursuing 


CHALMERS: “A NEW AFFECTION 


all the while his own selfishness instead of God’s glory; and 
with all the conformities which he labors to accomplish, 
the soul of obedience is not there, the mind is not subject to 
the law of God, nor indeed under such an economy ever can 595 
be. It is only when, as in the Gospel, acceptance is bestowed 
as at present, without money and without price, that the 
security that man feels in God is placed beyond the reach of 
disturbance—or, that he can repose in him, as one friend 
reposes in another—or, that any liberal and generous under- 600 
standing can be established betwixt them—the one party 
rejoicing over the other to do him good—the other find¬ 
ing that the truest gladness of his heart lies in the impulse 
of a gratitude, by which it is awakened to the charms of a 
new moral existence. Salvation by grace—salvation by 605 
free grace—salvation not of works, but according to the 
mercy of God—salvation on such a footing is not more 
indispensable to the deliverance of our persons from the 
hand of justice, than it is to the deliverance of our hearts from 
the chill and the weight of ungodliness. Retain a single 610 
shred or fragment of legality with the Gospel, and you raise 
a topic of distrust between man and God. You take away 
from the power of the Gospel to melt and to conciliate. For 
this purpose, the freer it is, the better it is. That very peculi¬ 
arity which so many dread as the germ of antinomianism, 615 
is, in fact, the germ of a new spirit, and a new inclination 
against it. Along with the light of a free Gospel, does there 
enter the love of the Gospel, which in proportion as we impair 
the freeness, you are sure to chase away. And never does the 
sinner find within himself so mighty a moral transformation, 620 
as when under the belief that he is saved by grace, he feels 
constrained thereby to offer his heart a devoted thing, and to 
deny ungodliness. 

To do any work in the best manner, you would make use 
of the fittest tools for it. And we trust, that what has been 625 
said may serve in some degree, for the practical guidance of 


ii6 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


those who would like to reach the great moral achievement 
of our text—but feel that the tendencies and desires of Nature 
are too strong for them. We know of no other way by which 
630 to keep the love of the world out of our heart, than to keep 
in our hearts the love of God—and no other way by which 
to keep our hearts in the love of God, than building ourselves 
up on our most holy faith. That denial of the world which 
is not possible to him that dissents from the Gospel testimony, 
635 is possible even as all things are possible, to him that believ- 
eth. To try this without faith, is to work without the right 
tool or the right instrument. But faith worketh by love; 
and the way of expelling from the heart the love which 
transgresseth the law, is to admit into its receptacles the 
640 love which fulfilleth the law. 

Conceive a man to be standing on the margin of this green 
world; and that, when he looked towards it, he saw abun¬ 
dance smiling upon every green field, and all the blessings 
which earth can afford scattered in profusion throughout every 
645 family, and the light of the sun sweetly resting upon all the 
pleasant habitations, and the joys of human companionship 
brightening many a happy circle of society—conceive this 
to be the general character of the scene upon one side of his 
contemplation; and that on the other, beyond the verge of 
650 the goodly planet on which he was situated, he could descry 
nothing but a dark and fathomless unknown. Think you 
that he would bid a voluntary adieu to all the brightness and 
all the beauty that were before him upon earth, and commit 
himself to the frightful solitude away from it? Would he 
655 leave its peopled dwelling places, and become a solitary 
wanderer through the fields of nonentity ? If space offered 
him nothing but a wilderness, would he for it abandon the 
homebred scenes of life and of cheerfulness that lay so near, 
and exerted such a power of urgency to detain him ? Would 
660 not he cling to the regions of sense, and of life, and of society— 
and shrinking away from the desolation that was beyond it, 


CHALMERS: “A NEW AFFECTION” 


117 

would not he be glad to keep his firm footing on the territory 
of this world, and to take shelter under the silver canopy that 
was stretched over it ? 

But if, during the time of his contemplation, some happy 665 
island of the blest had floated by; and there had burst upon 
his senses the light of its surpassing glories, and its sounds of 
sweeter melody; and he clearly saw, that there, a purer 
beauty rested upon every field, and a more heartfelt joy 
spread itself among all the families; and he could discern 670 
there a peace, and a piety, and a benevolence, which put a 
moral gladness into every bosom, and united the whole society 
in one rejoicing sympathy with each other, and with the 
beneficent Father of them all. Could he further see, that 
pain and mortality were there unknown; and above all, that 675 
signals of welcome were hung out, and an avenue of communi¬ 
cation was made for him—perceive you not, that what was 
before the wilderness, would become the land of invitation; 
and that now the world would be the wilderness? What 
unpeopled space could not do, can be done by space teeming 680 
with beatific scenes, and beatific society. And let the existing 
tendencies of the heart be what they may to the scene that is 
near and visible around us, still if another stood revealed to 
the prospect of man, either through the channel of faith, or 
through the channel of his senses—then, without violence done 685 
to the constitution of his moral nature, may he die unto the 
present world, and live to the lovelier world that stands in 
the distance away from it. 


n8 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


GENERAL NOTES 

I. Impression.—The solidity of this sermon is its 
outstanding characteristic. Chalmers has a message. 
He is dead-in-earnest in delivering it. How does his 
“ passion” compare with that of Beecher? Note the 
psychological factor. Chalmers knows the human 
soul. The kindly temper is evident. He does not 
denounce. He seeks to plead and win by love. The 
doctrinal basis of the sermon is apparent. Is the 
sermon too “heavy”? 

II. Analysis.—Compare this carefully with Brooks 
and Beecher. 

III. Title.—Compare this with current “catchy” 
titles as they are announced on bulletin boards and in 
the press. How would this title serve in New York; 
in a country town; in a rescue mission today? What 
appeal does it contain for a thoughtful person? 

IV. Text.—Would either of these texts have fitted 
the sermon better: “Be not overcome of evil, but 
overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:21); “And be not 
fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed 
by the renewing of your minds, that ye may prove what 
is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God” 
(Rom. 12:2)? Note that the discussion does not follow 
the order of thought in the text. 

V. Subject.—The subject is not formally announced. 
It is contained in the title. Compare Robertson on this 
point. 

VI. Proposition.—This is one of the best examples 
in homiletical literature of a proposition elaborately 


CHALMERS: “A NEW AFFECTION 


wrought, clearly stated, immediately announced, well 
grounded in the knowledge of human personality, and 
appealing to anyone who is interested in the development 
of Christian experience. Study the first paragraph 
carefully to discover how it may be either clarified or 
condensed. If it can be improved, suggest the changes 
desired. 

VII. Introduction.—This is an example of the identity 
of proposition and introduction—not an easy achieve¬ 
ment. What is the argument for it? Against it? 
How often should it be undertaken? 

VIII. Conclusion.—Compare the pictorial character 
of the conclusions in Beecher and Chalmers. Which is 
the more effective? Why? How often should such 
figures be used in conclusions? 

X. Material.—Here we have an excellent example 
of a sermon which has been thoroughly thought out. 
The two chief sources are the conditions under which 
human experience develops and the Christian gospel 
as it furnishes the energy by which the development 
is accomplished. Compare this with Robertson’s accu¬ 
rate study of obedience as the organ of spiritual knowl¬ 
edge. What conclusion does this suggest concerning 
the preacher’s knowledge of the most fundamental 
principles of religion and life? Is the study of a person 
acting under the stimulus of a great love accurate? 
Note the study of the “ retired” business man (p. 99, 
11. 47-50); of ennui (p. 102, 1. 158, to p. 103, 1. 180); 
boyish appetites (p. 101, 11. 122-31); “nature abhors 
a vacuum” (p. 104, 11. 211-27); the willingness tc 
accept a masterful motive and positive good (p. 105, 


120 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


11 . 244-50). Complete the list and discuss Chalmers' 
mastery of the conditions and laws of spiritual develop¬ 
ment. 

XII. Transitions.—Note the length of paragraphs, in 
comparison with Beecher. One-half of these have no 
specific connecting words. 

XIII. Unity.—Study this sermon as a conspicuous 
example of logical unity. Do you find any digressions? 

XIV. Style.—A notable and outstanding charac¬ 
teristic of Chalmers is his skill in the use of repetition. 

He would take some one great thought and hold it up 
from every point of view, exhibiting all its sides, changing the 
phraseology and the illustration, but keeping that one thought 
ever before the hearer. The famous criticism of Robert 
Hall upon Chalmers perhaps exaggerated this characteristic. 

In a conversation with a friend Hall said: “Did you ever 
know a man who had that singular faculty of repetition 
possessed by Dr. Chalmers? Why, sir, he often reiterates 
the same thing ten or twelve times in the course of a few 
pages. Even Burke himself had not so much of that peculi¬ 
arity. His mind resembles .... a kaleidoscope. Every 
turn presents the object in a new and beautiful form, but the 
object presented is still the same. His mind seems to move on 
hinges, not on wheels. There is incessant motion, but no 
progress. 1 

There are certain uses of words that call for attention: 
require in the active voice (p. 100, 1. 74); dispost 
(p. 108, 1. 362); wont (p. 100, 1. 74; p. 102, 1. 159); 
outpeer (p. 103,1. 188); occupier (p. 103, 1. 204); rival- 
ship (p. 107, 1. 332); trenched (p. no, 1. 450); get quit 
(p. 112,1.515). 

1 Dargan, History of Preaching , H, 4Q2. 


SERMON STUDY VI 
SPURGEON, “SONGS IN THE NIGHT” 
INTRODUCTORY NOTES 

Charles Haddon Spurgeon, English Baptist, was born 
June 19, 1834, and died January 31, 1892. His father 
and grandfather were ministers. He began to preach 
at sixteen and his unusual gifts were quickly recognized. 
In 1854 he began a ministry in London which continued 
until his death. Great audiences crowded to hear him, 
especially in the Metropolitan Tabernacle, built for 
him in 1861. He lacked thorough training for his work; 
but his gifts were manifold: simple diction, quaint 
humor, passionate earnestness, profound sympathy, and 
natural oratory. 

Spurgeon’s published sermons reached an almost 
incredible number, sixty-three volumes, each containing 
from fifty-two to sixty sermons, of which more than a 
hundred million copies were sold. This sermon is from 
Spurgeon's Sermons , Second Series , II, 167-87. 

He was intensely orthodox, a Calvinist, opposed to 
biblical criticism and all liberal tendencies in theology, 
and has been called “the last of the Puritans.” He 
was unselfish, tireless in labor and devotion, and a 
passionate preacher of the gospel of grace. 

No human computation will be able to reckon the number 
of weary toilers in the working and lower middle classes whose 
narrow surroundings have been brightened and idealized 
by the glow from the realm of faith to which he introduced 


121 


122 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


them. It was a great thing which this man achieved, to 
convince multitudes of struggling people, in the midst of a 
life which everything tended to belittle, that their character 
and career were a matter of infinite concern to the Power 
who made them, that they could not afford to treat sin 
lightly, or to throw themselves away as though they were of 
no account. 1 

Mr. Spurgeon’s method of preparing his sermons is not 
to be recommended to others who are without his gifts. 
Generally he had a number of friends to see him on Saturday 
afternoons, and after tea he would frequently conduct 
family worship with them. They all understood that they 
must leave by seven o’clock sharp. Then, as he used to say, 
he began to get some food for his sheep. Sometimes the 
Sunday morning sermon came easily, and in an hour or two 
he had completed his preparation, having his notes written 
on half a sheet of ordinary notepaper, possibly overflowing 
to the other side of the sheet. The fact was that he believed 
in preparing himself rather than the sermon, and, as he wrote 
so much, his power of accurate expression was exceptional. 
The Sunday evening sermon was generally prepared on Sun¬ 
day afternoon. He was a rapid worker, his thoughts had the 

speed and the vividness of lightning.He went to 

the pulpit with the assurance that he would be able to clothe 
his ideas appropriately at the moment and many of his 
illustrations came to him during the delivery of the sermon. 2 

Compare Beecher, feeling the fruit of his orchard for 
the ripest apple, and Spurgeon, getting food for his sheep. 

1 Christian World , February 4, 1892. 

2 W. Y. Fullerton, C. II. Spurgeon , 1920, p. 217. 



SPURGEON: “SONGS IN THE NIGHT 


123 


SONGS IN THE NIGHT 

But none saith, Where is God my Maker, who giveth songs in the 
night?—Job 35:10. 

Elihu was a wise man, exceeding wise, though not as 
wise as the all-wise Jehovah, who sees light in the clouds, and 
finds order in confusion; hence Elihu, being much puzzled 
at beholding Job thus afflicted, cast about him to find the 
cause of it, and he very wisely hit upon one of the most likely 5 
reasons, although it did not happen to be the right one in 
Job’s case. He said within himself—“Surely, if men be 
tried and troubled exceedingly, it is because, while they think 
about their troubles, and distress themselves about their 
fears, they do not say, ‘Where is God my Maker, who giveth 10 
songs in the night ?’ ” Elihu’s reason was very right in the 
majority of cases. The great cause of the Christian’s dis¬ 
tress, the reason of the depths of sorrow into which many 
believers are plunged, is simply this—that while they are 
looking about, on the right hand and on the left, to see how 15 
they may escape their troubles, they forget to look to the 
hills whence all real help cometh; they do not say, “Where 
is God my Maker, who giveth songs in the night?” We 
shall, however, leave that inquiry, and dwell upon those 
sweet words, “ God my Maker, who giveth songs in the night.” 20 

The world hath its night. It seemeth necessary that it 
should have one. The sun shineth by day, and men go forth 
to their labors; but they grow weary, and night-fall cometh 
on, like a sweet boon from heaven. The darkness draweth 
the curtains, and shutteth out the light, which might prevent 25 
our eyes from slumber; while the sweet, calm stillness of the 
night permits us to rest upon the lap of ease, and there forget 
awhile our cares, until the morning sun appeareth, and an 
angel puts his hand upon the curtain, and undraws it once 
again, touches our eyelids, and bids us rise, and proceed to 30 
the labors of the day. Night is one of the greatest blessings 


124 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


men enjoy; we have many reasons to thank God for it. Yet 
night is to many a gloomy season. There is “ the pestilence 
that walketh in darkness”; there is “the terror by night”; 
35 there is the dread of robbers and of fell disease, with all those 
fears that the timorous know, when they have no light where¬ 
with they can discern objects. It is then they fancy that 
spiritual creatures walk the earth; though, if they knew 
rightly, they would find it to be true, that 

40 Millions of spiritual creatures walk this earth, 

Unseen, both when we sleep and when we wake, 

and that at all times they are round about us—not more by 
night than by day. Night is the season of terror and alarm 
to most men. Yet even night hath its songs. Have you 
45 never stood by the seaside at night, and heard the pebbles 
sing, and the waves chant God’s glories ? Or have you never 
risen from your couch, and thrown up the window of your 
chamber, and listened there ? Listened to what ? Silence— 
save now and then a murmuring sound, which seems sweet 
50 music then. And have you not fancied that you heard the 
harp of God playing in heaven ? Did you not conceive, that 
yon stars, that those eyes of God, looking down on you, were 
also mouths of song—that every star was singing God’s glory, 
singing, as it shone, its mighty Maker, and his lawful, well- 
55 deserved praise ? Night hath its songs. We need not much 
poetry in our spirit, to catch the song of night, and hear the 
spheres as they chant praises which are loud to the heart, 
though they be silent to the ear—the praises of the mighty 
God, who bears up the unpillared arch of heaven, and moves 
60 the stars in their courses. 

Man, too, like the great world in which he lives, must 
have his night. For it is true that man is like the world 
around him; he is a little world; he resembles the world in 
almost everything; and if the world hath its night, so hath 
65 man. And many a night do we have—nights of sorrow, 


SPURGEON: “SONGS IN THE NIGHT 


125 


nights of persecution, nights of doubt, nights of bewilder¬ 
ment, nights of anxiety, nights of oppression, nights of igno¬ 
rance, nights of all kinds, which press upon our spirits and 
terrify our souls. But, blessed be God, the Christian man 
can say, “My God giveth me songs in the night.” 70 

It is not necessary, I take it, to prove to you that Chris¬ 
tian men have nights; for if you are Christians, you will find 
that you have them, and you will not want any proof, for 
nights will come quite often enough. I will, therefore, pro¬ 
ceed at once to the subject; and I will speak this evening 75 
upon songs in the night, their source —God giveth them; songs 
in the night, their matter —what do we sing about in the night ? 
songs in the night, their excellence —they are hearty songs, 
and they are sweet ones; songs in the night, their uses — 
their benefits to ourselves and others. 80 

I 

First, songs in the night— who is the author of them ? 
“God,” says the text, our “Maker:” he “giveth songs in the 
night.” 

Any fool can sing in the day. When the cup is full, man 
draws inspiration from it; when wealth rolls in abundance 85 
around him, any man can sing to the praise of a God who 
gives a plenteous harvest, or sends home a loaded argosy. 

It is easy enough for an Aeolian harp to whisper music when 
winds blow; the difficulty is for music to come when no wind 
bloweth. It is easy to sing when we can read the notes by 90 
daylight; but the skillful singer is he who can sing when there 
is not a ray of light to read by—who sings from his heart, 
and not from a book that he can see, because he has no means 
of reading, save from that inward book of his own living 
spirit, whence notes of gratitude pour out in songs of praise. 95 
No man can make a song in the night himself; he may 
attempt it, but he will feel how difficult it is. Let all things 
go as I please—I will weave songs, weave them wherever I 


126 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


go, with the flowers that grow upon my path; but put me in 
ioo a desert, where no flowers are, and wherewith shall I weave a 
chorus of praise to God? How shall 1 make a crown for 
him ? Let this voice be free, and this body be full of health, 
and I can sing God’s praise; but stop this tongue, lay me 
upon the bed of languishing, and it is not so easy to sing 
105 from the bed, and chant high praises in the fires. Give me 
the bliss of spiritual liberty, and let me mount up to my God, 
get near the throne, and I will sing, ay, sing as sweet as 
seraphs; but confine me, fetter my spirit, clip my wings, 
make me exceeding sad, so that I become old like the eagle— 
no ah! then it is hard to sing. It is not in man’s power to sing, 
when all is adverse. It is not natural to sing in trouble— 
“ Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless 
his holy name”: for that is a daylight song. But it was a 
divine song which Habakkuk sang, when in the night he 
ns said—“Though the fig-tree shall not blossom,” and so on, 
“yet will I trust in the Lord, and stay myself in the God of 
Jacob.” Methinks in the Red Sea any man could have made 
a song like that of Moses—“The horse and his rider hath he 
thrown into the sea”; the difficulty would have been to 
120 compose a song before the Red Sea had been divided, and 
sing it before Pharaoh’s hosts had been drowned, while yet 
the darkness of doubt and fear was resting on Israel’s hosts. 
Songs in the night come only from God; they are not in the 
power of man. 

125 But what does the text mean, when it asserts that God 
giveth songs in the night ? We think we find two answers 
to the question. The first is, that usually in the night of a 
Christian’s experience God is his only song. If it be daylight 
in my heart, I can sing songs touching my graces—songs 
130 touching my sweet experience—songs touching my duties— 
songs touching my labors; but let the night come—my graces 


SPURGEON: “SONGS IN THE NIGHT 


127 


appear to have withered; my evidences, though they are 
there, are hidden; I cannot 

read my title clear 

To mansions in the skies; 135 

and now I have nothing left to sing of but my God. It is 
strange, that when God gives his children mercies, they 
generally set their hearts more on the mercies than on the 
Giver of them; but when the night comes, and he sweeps all 
the mercies away, then at once they say, “Now, my God, I 140 
have nothing to sing of but thee; I must come to thee; and 
to thee only. I had cisterns once; they were full of water; 

I drank from them then; but now the created streams are 
dry; sweet Lord, I quaff no stream but thine own self, I 
drink from no fount but from thee.” Ay, child of God, thou 145 
knowest what I say; or if thou dost not understand it yet, 
thou wilt do so by-and-by. It is in the night we sing of God, 
and of God alone. Every string is tuned, and every power 
hath its attribute to sing, while we praise God, and nothing 
else. We can sacrifice to ourselves in daylight—we only 150 
sacrifice to God by night; we can sing high praises to our 
dear selves when all is joyful, but we cannot sing praise to 
any save our God, when circumstances are untoward, and 
providences appear adverse. God alone can furnish us with 
songs in the night. 155 

And yet again: not only does God give the song in the 
night, because he is the only subject upon which we can sing 
then, but because he is the only one who inspires songs in the 
night. Bring me up a poor, melancholy, distressed child of 
God: I come into the pulpit, I seek to tell him sweet promises, 160 
and whisper to him sweet words of comfort; he listeneth not 
to me; he is like the deaf adder, he listens not to the voice 
of the charmer, charm he never so wisely. Send him round 
to all the comforting divines, and all the holy Barnabases that 


128 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


165 ever preached, and they will do very little—they will not be 
able to squeeze a song out of him, do what they may. He is 
drinking the gall of wormwood; he says, “O Lord, thou hast 
made me drunk with weeping, I have eaten ashes like bread”; 
and comfort him as you may, it will be only a woeful note or 
170 two of mournful resignation that you will get from him; you 
will get no psalms of praise, no hallelujahs, no sonnets. But 
let God come to his child in the night, let him whisper in his 
ear as he lies on his bed, and how you see his eyes flash fire 
in the night! Do you not hear him say, 

175 ’Tis paradise, if thou art here; 

If thou depart, ’tis hell. 

I could not have cheered him: it is God that has done it; 
and God “giveth songs in the night.” It is marvelous, 
brethren, how one sweet word of God will make whole songs 
180 for Christians. One word of God is like a piece of gold, and 
the Christian is the gold-beater, and he can hammer that 
promise out for whole weeks. I can say to myself, I have 
lived on one promise for weeks, and want no other. I want 
just simply to hammer that promise out into gold-leaf, and 
185 plate my whole existence with joy from it. The Christian 
gets his songs from God: God gives him inspiration, and 
teaches him how to sing: “God my Maker, who giveth songs 
in the night.” 

So, then, poor Christian, thou needest not go pumping 
190 up thy poor heart to make it glad. Go to thy Maker, and 
ask him to give thee a song in the night. Thou art a poor 
dry well: thou hast heard it said, that when a pump is dry 
you must pour water down it first of all, and then you will 
get some up; and so, Christian, when thou art dry, go to God, 
19s ask him to pour some joy down thee, and then thou wilt get 
some joy up from thine own heart. Do not go to this com¬ 
forter or that, for you will find them Job’s comforters, after 
all; but go thou first and foremost to thy Maker, for he is 


SPURGEON: “SONGS IN THE NIGHT 


129 


the great composer of songs and teacher of music; he it is 
who can teach thee how to sing: “ God, my Maker, who giveth 
me songs in the night.” 

II 

Thus we have dwelt upon the first point. Now the 
second, what is generally the matter contained in a 
song in the night ? What do we sing about ? 

Why, I think, when we sing by night, there are three 
things we sing about. Either we sing about the yesterday 
that is over, or else about the night itself, or else about the 
morrow that is to come. Each of these are sweet themes, when 
God our Maker gives us songs in the night. In the midst 
of the night the most usual method for Christians is to sing 
about the day that is over. “Well,” they say, “it is night 
now, but I can remember when it was daylight. Neither 
moon nor stars appear at present; but I can remember when 
I saw the sun. I have no evidence just now; but there was a 
time when I could say, ‘I know that my Redeemer liveth.’ 
I have my doubts and fears at this present moment; but 
it is not long since I could say, with full assurance, ‘I know 
that he shed his blood for me; I know that my Redeemer 
liveth, and when he shall stand a second time upon the earth, 
though the worms devour this body, yet in my flesh I shall 
see God.’ It may be darkness now; but I know the promises 
were sweet; I know I had blessed seasons in his house. I 
am quite sure of this; I used to enjoy myself in the ways of 
the Lord; and though now my paths are strewn with thorns, 
I know it is the King’s highway. It was a way of pleasant¬ 
ness once; it will be a way of pleasantness again. ‘I will re¬ 
member the days of old; I will meditate upon the years of the 
right hand of the Most High.’” Christian, perhaps the best 
song thou canst sing, to cheer thee in the night, is the song 
of yester-morn. Remember, it was not always night with 
thee: night is a new thing to thee. Once thou hadst a 


200 

205 

210 

21s 

220 

225 

230 


130 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


glad heart, a buoyant spirit; once thine eye was full of fire; 
once thy foot was light; once thou couldst sing for very 
joy and ecstasy of heart. Well, then, remember that God, 
235 who made thee sing yesterday, has not left thee in the night. 
He is not a daylight God, who cannot know his children in 
darkness; but he loves thee now as much as ever: though he 
has left thee a little, it is to prove thee, to make thee trust 
him better, and serve him more. Let me tell you some of 
240 the sweet things of which a Christian may make a song when 
he is in the night. 

If we are going to sing of the things of yesterday, let us 
begin with what God did for us in past times. My beloved 
brethren, you will find it a sweet subject for song at times, 
245 to begin to sing of electing love and covenanted mercies. 
When thou thyself art low, it is well to sing of the fountain¬ 
head of mercy; of that blessed decree wherein thou wast 
ordained to eternal life, and of that glorious Man who under¬ 
took thy redemption; of that solemn covenant signed, and 
250 sealed, and ratified, in all things ordered well; of that ever¬ 
lasting love which, ere the hoary mountains were begotten, 
or ere the aged hills were children, chose thee, loved thee 
firmly, loved thee fast, loved thee well, loved thee eternally. 
I tell thee, believer, if thou canst go back to the years of 
255 eternity; if thou canst in thy mind run back to that period, 
or ere the everlasting hills were fashioned, or the fountains 
of the great deep scooped out, and if thou canst see thy God 
inscribing thy name in his eternal book; if thou canst see 
in his loving heart eternal thoughts of love to thee, thou wilt 
260 find this a charming means of giving thee songs in the night. 
No songs like those which come from electing love; no sonnets 
like those that are dictated by meditations on discriminating 
mercy. Some, indeed, cannot sing of election: the Lord 
open their mouths a little wider! Some there are that are 
265 afraid of the very term; but we only despise men who are 
afraid of what they believe, afraid of what God has taught 


SPURGEON: “SONGS IN THE NIGHT 


them in his Bible. No, in our darker hours it is our joy to 
sing: 

Sons we are through God’s election, 

Who in Jesus Christ believe; 270 

By eternal destination, 

Sovereign grace we now receive. 

Lord, thy favor, 

Shall both grace and glory give. 

Think, Christian, of the yesterday, I say, and thou wilt get 275 
a song in the night. 

But if thou hast not a voice tuned to so high a key as 
that, let me suggest some other mercies thou mayest sing of; 
and they are the mercies thou hast experienced. What! 
man, canst thou not sing a little of that blessed hour when 280 
Jesus met thee; when, a blind slave, thou wast sporting with 
death, and he saw thee, and said: “Come, poor slave, come 
with me!” Canst thou not sing of that rapturous moment 
when he snapped thy fetters, dashed thy chains to the earth, 
and said: “I am the Breaker; I came to break thy chains, 285 
and set thee free!” What though thou art ever so gloomy 
now, canst thou forget that happy morning, when in the house 
of God thy voice was loud, almost as a seraph’s voice, in 
praise? For thou couldst sing: “I am forgiven; I am 
forgiven”: 290 

A monument of grace, 

A sinner saved by blood. 

Go back, man; sing of that moment, and then thou wilt have 
a song in the night. Or if thou hast almost forgotten that, 
then sure thou hast some precious milestone along the road 295 
of life that is not quite grown over with moss, on which thou 
canst read some happy inscription of his mercy toward thee! 
What! didst thou never have a sickness like that which thou 
art suffering now, and did he not raise thee up from that? 
Wast thou never poor before, and did he not supply thy 300 
wants? Wast thou never in straits before, and did he not 


132 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


deliver thee? Come, man! I beseech thee, go to the river 
of thine experience, and pull up a few bulrushes, and weave 
them into an ark, wherein thine infant faith may float safely 
305 on the stream. I bid thee not forget what God hath done. 
What! hast thou buried thine own diary? I beseech thee, 
man, turn over the book of thy remembrance. Canst thou 
not see some sweet hill Mizar ? Canst thou not think of some 
blessed hour when the Lord met with thee at Hermon? 
310 Hast thou never been on the Delectable Mountains? Hast 
thou never been fetched from the den of lions ? Hast thou 
never escaped the jaw of the lion and the paw of the bear ? 
Nay, O man, I know thou hast; go back, then, a little way, 
and take the mercies of yesterday; and though it is dark 
315 now, light up the lamps of yesterday, and they shall glitter 
through the darkness, and thou shalt find that God hath 
given thee a song in the night. 

“Ay,” says one, “but you know, that when we are in 
the dark, we cannot see the mercies God has given us. It 
320 is all very well for you to tell us this; but we cannot get hold 
of them.” I remember an old experimental Christian speak¬ 
ing about the great pillars of our faith; he was a sailor; we 
were then on board ship, and there were sundry huge posts 
on the shore, to which the ships were usually fastened, by 
325 throwing a cable over them. After I had told him a great 
many promises, he said, “I know they are good strong 
promises, but I cannot get near enough to shore to throw 
my cable around them; that is the difficulty.” 

Now, it often happens that God’s past mercies and loving 
330 kindnesses would be good sure posts to hold on to, but we 
have not got faith enough to throw our cable round them, and 
so we go slipping down the stream of unbelief, because we 
cannot stay ourselves by our former mercies. I will, how¬ 
ever, give you something that I think you can throw your 
335 cable over. If God has never been kind to you, one thing 
you surely know, and that is, he has been kind to others. 


SPURGEON: “SONGS IN THE NIGHT” 


133 


Come, now; if thou art in ever so great straits, sure there 
were others in greater straits. What! art thou lower down 
than poor Jonah was, when he went down to the bottoms 
of the mountains? Art thou more poorly off than thy 
Master, when he had not a place where to lay his head? 
What! conceivest thou thyself to be the worst of the worst ? 
Look at Job there, scraping himself with a potsherd, and 
sitting on a dunghill. Art thou as bad as he ? And yet Job 
rose up, and was richer than before; and out of the depths 
Jonah came, and preached the Word; and our Saviour Jesus 
hath mounted to his throne. O Christian! only think of 
what he has done for others! If thou canst not recollect 
that he has done anything for thee, yet remember, I beseech 
thee, what his usual rule is, and do not judge hardly by my 
God. You remember Benhadad, when he was overcome 
and conquered, and Ahab was after him. Some said to him, 
“We know that the kings of Israel are merciful kings; let 
us send therefore unto Ahab, and it may be he will spare our 
lives. ,, Benhadad sent to the king; he had received no 
kindness from Ahab before, he had only heard that he was a 
merciful king; so to the king he went; and what said the 
king? “Is my brother, Benhadad, yet alive ?” Truly, poor 
soul, if thou hast never had a merciful God, yet others have 
had; the King is a merciful King, go and try him. If thou 
art ever so low in thy troubles, look to “ the hills, from whence 
cometh thy help.” Others have had help therefrom, and 
so mayest thou. Up might start hundreds of God’s children, 
and show us their hands full of comforts and mercies; and 
they could say, “the Lord gave us these without money 
and without price; and why should he not give to thee also, 
seeing that thou also art a king’s son?” Thus, Christian, 
thou wilt get a song in the night out of other people, if thou 
canst not get a song from thyself. Never be ashamed of 
taking a leaf out of another man’s experience book. If 
thou canst find no good leaf in thine own, tear one out of some 


340 

345 

350 

355 

360 

365 

370 


134 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


one’s else; and if thou hast no cause to be grateful to God in 
darkness, or canst not find cause in thine own experience, 
go to some one else, and, if thou canst, harp his praise in the 
375 dark, and like the nightingale sing his praise sweetly when 
all the world has gone to rest. We can sing in the night of 
the mercies of yesterday. 

But I think, beloved, there is never so dark a night, but 
there is something to sing about, even concerning that night; 
380 for there is one thing I am sure we can sing about, let the night 
be ever so dark, and that is, “ It is because of the Lord’s mercies 
that we are not consumed, and because his compassions fail 
not.” If we cannot sing very loud, yet we can sing a little low 
tune, something like this—“He hath not dealt with us after 
385 our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.” “O!” 
says one, “I do not know where to get my dinner for 
to-morrow. I am a poor wretch.” So you may be, my dear 
friend; but you are not so poor as you deserve to be. Do 
not be mightily offended about that; if you are, you are no 
390 child of God; for the child of God acknowledges that he 
has no right to the least of God’s mercies, but that they come 
through the channel of grace alone. As long as I am out of 
hell, I have no right to grumble; and if I were in hell I should 
have no right to complain, for I feel, when convinced of sin, 
395 that never creature deserved to go there more than I do. 
We have no cause to murmur; we can lift up our hands, and 
say, “Night! thou art dark, but thou mightest have been 
darker. 1 am poor, but if I could not have been poorer, 1 
might have been sick. I am poor and sick—well, I have 
400 some friend left; my lot cannot be so bad, but it might have 
been worse.” And therefore, Christian, you will always have 
one thing to sing about—“Lord, I thank thee, it is not all 
darkness!” Besides, Christian, however dark the night is, 
there is always a star or moon. There is scarce ever a night 
405 that we have but there are just one or two little lamps burn¬ 
ing up there. However dark it may be, I think you may 


SPURGEON: “SONGS IN THE NIGHT” 


135 


find some little comfort, some little joy, some little mercy 
left, and some little promise to cheer thy spirit. The stars 
are not put out, are they ? Nay, if thou canst not see them, 
they are there; but methinks one or two must be shining on 
thee; therefore give God a song in the night. If thou hast 
only one star, bless God for that one, perhaps he will make it 
two; and if thou hast only two stars, bless God twice for the 
two stars, and perhaps he will make them four. Try, then, 
if thou canst not find a song in the night. 

But, beloved, there is another thing of which we can 
sing yet more sweetly; and that is, we can sing of the day 
that is to come. I am preaching to-night for the poor weavers 
of Spitalfields. Perhaps there are not to be found a class of 
men in London who are suffering a darker night than they 
are; for while many classes have been befriended and defended, 
there are few who speak up for them, and (if I am rightly 
informed) they are generally ground down within an inch 
of their fives. I suppose their masters intend that their 
bread shall be very sweet, on the principle that the nearer 
the ground, the sweeter the grass; for I should think no 
people have their grass so near the ground as the weavers of 
Spitalfields. In an inquiry by the House of Commons last 
week, it was given in evidence, that their average wages 
amounted to seven or eight shillings a week; and then they 
have to furnish themselves with a room, and work at expen¬ 
sive articles, which my friends the ladies are wearing now, 
and which they buy as cheaply as possible; but perhaps they 
do not know that they are made with the blood and bones 
and marrow of the Spitalfields weavers, who, many of them, 
work for less than man ought to have to subsist upon. 
Some of them waited upon me the other day; I was exceed¬ 
ingly pleased with one of them. He said, “ Well, sir, it is very 
hard, but I hope there is better times coming for us.” “ Well, 
my friend,” I said, “I am afraid you cannot hope for much 
better times, unless the Lord Jesus Christ comes a second 


410 

415 

420 

425 

430 

435 

440 


136 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


time.” “That is just what we hope for,” said he. “We 
do not see there is any chance of deliverance, unless the Lord 
Jesus Christ comes to establish his kingdom upon earth; 
445 and then he will judge the oppressed, and break the oppressors 
in pieces with an iron rod, and dash them in pieces like a 
potter’s vessel.” I was glad my friend had got a song in the 
night, and was singing about the morning that was coming. 
Often do I cheer myself with the thought of the coming of the 
450 Lord. We preach now, perhaps, with little success; “the 
kingdoms of this world” are not “become the kingdoms of 
our Lord and of his Christ”; we send out missionaries; they 
are for the most part unsuccessful. We are laboring, but we 
do not see the fruit of our labors. Well, what then ? Try a 
455 little while; we shall not always labor in vain, or spend our 
strength for nought. A day is coming, and now is, when 
every minister of Christ shall speak with unction, when all the 
servants of God shall preach with power, and when colossal 
systems of heathenism shall tumble from their pedestals, and 
460 mighty, gigantic delusions shall be scattered to the winds. 
The shout shall be heard, “Alleluia! Alleluia! the Lord God 
Omnipotent reigneth.” For that day do I look; it is to the 
bright horizon of that second coming that I turn my eyes. 
My anxious expectation is, that the sweet Sun of righteous- 
465 ness will arise with healing beneath his wings, that the 
oppressed shall be righted, that despotisms shall be cut down, 
that liberty shall be established, that peace shall be made 
lasting, and that the glorious liberty of the gospel of God shall 
be extended throughout the known world. Christian! if 
470 thou art in a night, think of the morrow; cheer up thy heart 
with the thought of the coming of thy Lord. Be patient, for 
“Lo! he comes, with clouds descending.” Be patient! 
The husbandman waits until he reaps his harvest. Be 
patient; for you know who has said, “ Behold, I come quickly, 
475 and my reward is with me, to give to every man according 
as his works shall be.” 


SPURGEON: “SONGS IN THE NIGHT 


137 


One thought more upon that point. There is another 
sweet to-morrow of which we hope to sing in the night. 
Soon, beloved, you and I shall lie on our dying-bed, and we 
shall want a song in the night then; and I do not know where 480 
we shall get it, if we do not get it from the to-morrow. Kneel¬ 
ing by the bed of an apparently dying saint, last night, I 
said, “Well, sister, he has been precious to you; you can 
rejoice in his covenant mercies, and his past loving- 
kindnesses.” She put out her hand, and said, “Ah! sir, do 485 
not talk about them now; I want the sinner’s Saviour as 
much now as ever; it is not a saint’s Saviour I want; it is 
still a sinner’s Saviour that I am in need of, for I am a sinner 
still.” I found that I could not comfort her with the past; 
so I reminded her of the golden streets, of the gates of pearl, 490 
of the walls of jaspar, of the harps of gold, of the songs of 
bliss; and then her eye glistened; she said, “Yes, I shall 
be there soon; I shall meet them by-and-by”; and then she 
seemed so glad! Ah! believer, you may always cheer your¬ 
self with that thought; for if you are ever so low now, 495 
remember that 

A few more rolling suns, at most, 

Will land thee on fair Canaan’s coast. 

Thy head may be crowned with thorny troubles now, 
but it shall wear a starry crown directly; thy hand may be 500 
filled with cares—it shall grasp a harp soon, a harp full of 
music. Thy garments may be soiled with dust now; they 
shall be white by-and-by. Wait a little longer. Ah! beloved, 
how despicable our troubles and trials will seem when we 
look back upon them! Looking at them here in the prospect, 505 
they seem immense; but when we get to heaven, we shall 

With transporting joys, recount 
The labors of our feet. 

Our trials will seem to us nothing at all. We shall talk 510 
to one another about them in heaven and find all the more 


138 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


to converse about, according as we have suffered more here 
below. Let us go on, therefore; and if the night be ever so 
dark, remember there is not a night that shall not have a 
515 morning; and that morning is to come by-and-by. When 
sinners are lost in darkness, we shall lift up our eyes in 
everlasting light. Surely I need not dwell longer on this 
thought. There is matter enough for songs in the night in 
the past, the present, and the future. 

Ill 

520 And now I want to tell you, very briefly, what are the 

EXCELLENCES OF SONGS IN THE NIGHT ABOVE ALL OTHER 
SONGS. 

In the first place, when you hear a man singing a song in 
the night—I mean in the night of trouble—you may be quite 
525 sure it is a hearty one. Many of you sang very prettily just 
now, didn’t you ? I wonder whether you would sing very 
prettily if there were a stake or two in Smithfield for all of 
you who dared to do it ? If you sang under pain and penalty 
that would show your heart to be in your song. We can all 
530 sing very nicely indeed when everybody else sings. It is 
the easiest thing in the world to open your mouth, and let 
the words come out; but when the devil puts his hand over 
your mouth, can you sing then ? Can you say, “Though he 
slay me, yet will I trust in him”? That is hearty singing; 
535 that is real song that springs up in the night. The nightingale 
singeth most sweetly because she singeth in the night. We 
know a poet has said, that if she sang by day, she might be 
thought to sing no more sweetly than the wren. It is the 
stillness of the night that makes her song sweet. And so 
540 doth a Christian’s song become sweet and hearty, because 
it is in the night. 

Again: the songs we sing in the night will be lasting. 
Many songs we hear our fellow-creatures singing in the 
streets will not do to sing by-and-by; I guess they will sing 
545 a different kind of tune soon. They can sing now-a-days any 


SPURGEON: “SONGS IN THE NIGHT” 


139 


rollicking, drinking songs; but they will not sing them when 
they come to die; they are not exactly the songs with which 
to cross Jordan’s billows. It will not do to sing one of those 
light songs when death and you are having the last tug. It 
will not do to enter heaven singing one of those unchaste, 550 
unholy sonnets. No; but the Christian who can sing in the 
night will not have to leave off his song; he may keep on 
singing it forever. He may put his foot in Jordan’s stream, 
and continue his melody; he may wade through it, and keep 
on singing still, and land himself safe in heaven; and when 555 
he is there, there need not be a gap in his strain, but in a 
nobler, sweeter strain, he may still continue singing his power 
to save. There are a great many of you that think Christian 
people are a very miserable set, don’t you? You say, “Let 
me sing my song.” Ay, but, my dear friends, we like to 560 
sing a song that will last; we don’t like your songs; they are 
all froth, like bubbles on the breaker, and they will soon die 
away and be lost. Give me a song that will last; give me 
one that will not melt. O, give me not the dreamster’s 
gold! He hoards it up, and says, “I’m rich”; and when he 565 
waketh, his gold is gone. But give me songs in the night, 
for they are songs I sing forever. 

Again: the songs we warble in the night are those that 
show we have real faith in God. Many men have just enough 
faith to trust God as far as they can see him, and they always 570 
sing as far as they can see providence go right; but true faith 
can sing when its possessors cannot see. It can take hold of 
God when they cannot discern him. 

Songs in the night, too, prove that we have true courage. 
Many sing by day who are silent by night; they are afraid 575 
of thieves and robbers; but the Christian who sings in the 
night proves himself to be a courageous character. It is 
the bold Christian who can sing God’s sonnets in the darkness. 

He who can sing songs in the night, too, proves that he 
has true love to Christ. It is not love to Christ to praise him 580 


140 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


while every body else praises him; to walk arm in arm with 
him when he has the crown on his head is no great deed, I 
wot; to walk with Christ in rags is something. To believe 
in Christ when he is shrouded in darkness, to stick hard and 
585 fast by the Saviour when all men speak ill of him and forsake 
him—that is true faith. He who singeth a song to Christ 
in the night, singeth the best song in all the world; for he 
singeth from the heart. 

IV 

I am afraid of wearying you; therefore I will not dwell 
590 on the excellences of night songs, but just, in the last place, 
show you their use. 

Well, beloved, it is very useful to sing in the night of our 
troubles, first, because it will cheer ourselves. When you were 
boys living in the country, and had some distance to go alone 
595 at night, don’t you remember how you whistled and sang 
to keep your courage up ? Well, what we do in the natural 
world we ought to do in the spiritual. There is nothing like 
singing to keep your spirits alive. When we have been in 
trouble, we have often thought ourselves to be well-nigh 
600 overwhelmed with difficulty; and we have said, “Let us have 
a song.” We have begun to sing; and Martin Luther says 
“The devil cannot bear singing.” That is about the truth; 
he does not like music. It was so in Saul’s days: an evil 
spirit rested on Saul; but when David played on his harp, the 
605 evil spirit went away from him. This is usually the case: 
if we can begin to sing we shall remove our fears. I like to 
hear servants sometimes humming a tune at their work; I 
love to hear a plowman in the country singing as he goes along 
with his horses. Why not? You say he has no time to 
610 praise God; but he can sing a song—surely he can sing a 
Psalm; it will take no more time. Singing is the best thing 
to purge ourselves of evil thoughts. Keep your mouth full 
of songs, and you will often keep your heart full of praises; 


SPURGEON: “SONGS IN THE NIGHT 


keep on singing as long as you can; you will find it a good 
method of driving away your fears. 615 

Sing in the night, again, because God loves to hear his 
people sing in the night. At no time does God love his 
children’s singing so well as when they give a serenade of 
praise under his window, when he has hidden his face from 
them, and will not appear to them at all. They are all in 620 
darkness; but they come under his window, and they begin 
to sing there. “Ah!” says God, “that is true faith, that 
can make them sing praises when I will not look at them; 

I know there is some faith in them, that makes them lift 
up their hearts, even when I seem to take away all my tender 625 
mercies and all my compassions.” Sing, Christian, for 
singing pleases God. In heaven, we read, the angels are 
employed in singing: do you be employed in the same way; 
for by no better means can you gratify the Almighty One of 
Israel, who stoops from his high throne to observe the poor 630 
creature of a day. 

Sing, again, for another reason: because it will cheer 
your companions. If any of them are in the valley and in 
the darkness with you, it will be a great help to comfort 
them. John Bunyan tells us, that as Christian was going 635 
through the valley he found it a dreadful dark place, and 
terrible demons and goblins were all about him, and poor 
Christian thought he must perish for certain; but just when 
his doubts were the strongest, he heard a sweet voice; he 
listened to it, and he heard a man in front of him saying, 640 
“Yea when I pass through the valley of the shadow of 
death, I will fear no evil.” Now, that man did not know 
who was near him, but he was unwittingly singing to cheer 
a man behind. Christian, when you are in trouble, sing; 
you do not know who is near you. Sing! perhaps you will 645 
get a good companion by it. Sing! perhaps there will be 
many a heart cheered by your song. There is some broken 
spirit, it may be, that will be bound up by your sonnets. 


142 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


Sing! there is some poor distressed brother, perhaps, shut up 
650 in the Castle of Despair, who, like King Richard, will hear 
your song inside the walls, and sing to you again, and you 
may be the means of getting him a ransom. Sing, Christian, 
wherever you go; try, if you can, to wash your face every 
morning in a bath of praise. When you go down from your 
655 chamber, never go to look on man till you have first looked 
on your God; and when you have looked on him, seek to 
come down with a face beaming with joy; carry a smile for 
you will cheer up many a poor way-worn pilgrim by it. And 
when thou fastest, Christian, when thou hast an aching heart, 
660 do not appear to men to fast; appear cheerful and happy; 
anoint thy head, and wash thy face; be happy for thy 
brother’s sake; it will tend to cheer him up, and help him 
through the valley. 

One more reason; and I know it will be a good one for 
665 you. Try and sing in the night, Christian, for that is one 
of the best arguments in all the world in favor of your religion. 
Our divines, now-a-days, spend a great deal of time in trying 
to prove Christianity against those who disbelieve it. I should 
like to have seen Paul trying that! Elymas the sorcerer 
670 withstood him: how did our friend Paul treat him ? He said, 
“O, full of all subtlety and all mischief, thou child of the devil, 
thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert 
the right ways of the Lord ?” That is about the politeness 
such men ought to have who deny God’s truth. We start 
675 with this assumption: we will prove that the Bible is God’s 
word, but we are not going to prove God’s word. If you do 
not like to believe it, we will shake hands, and bid you 
good-by; we will not argue with you. The gospel has 
gained little by discussion. The greatest folly on earth has 
680 been to send a man round the country, to follow up another 
who has been lecturing on infidelity just to make himself 
notorious. 


SPURGEON: “SONGS IN THE NIGHT 


143 


Why, let them lecture on; this is a free country; why 
should we follow them about ? The truth will win the day. 
Christianity need not wish for controversy; it is strong 685 
enough for it, if it wishes it; but that is not God’s way. 
God’s direction is, “Preach, teach, dogmatize.” Do not 
stand disputing; claim a divine mission; tell men that God 
says it, and there leave it. Say to them, “He that believeth 
shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned”; 690 
when you have done that, you have done enough. For what 
reason should our missionaries stand disputing with Brah¬ 
mins ? Why should they be wasting their time by attempt¬ 
ing to refute first this dogma, and then another, of heathen¬ 
ism? Why not just go and say, “The God whom ye igno- 695 
rantly worship, I declare unto you; believe me, and you will 
be saved; believe me not, and the Bible says you are lost.” 

And then, having thus asserted God’s word, say, “I leave it; 

I declare it unto you; it is a thing for you to believe, not a 
thing for you to reason about.” Religion is not a thing 700 
merely for your intellect; a thing to prove your own talent 
upon, by making a syllogism on it; it is a thing that demands 
your faith. As a messenger of heaven, I demand that faith; 
if you do not choose to give it, on your own head be the doom, 
if there be such; if there be not, you are prepared to risk it. 705 
But I have done my duty; I have told you the truth; that 
is enough, and there I leave it. O, Christian, instead of 
disputing, let me tell thee how to prove your religion. Live 
it out! live it out! Give the external as well as the internal 
evidence; give the external evidence of your own life. You 710 
are sick; there is your neighbor, who laughs at religion; 
let him come into your house. When he was sick, he said, 

“O, send for the doctor”; and there he was fretting, and 
fuming, and whining, and making all manner of noises. 
When you are sick, send for him; tell him that you are 715 
resigned to the Lord’s will; that you will kiss the chastening 
rod; that you will take the cup, and drink it, because your 


144 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


Father gives it. You need not make a boast of this, or it 
will lose all its power; but do it because you cannot help 
720 doing it. Your neighbor will say, “ There is something in 
that.” And when you come to the borders of the grave—he 
was there once, and you heard how he shrieked, and how 
frightened he was—give him your hand, and say to him, 
“Ah! I have a Christ that will do to die by; I have a religion 
725 that will make me sing in the night.” Let him hear how you 
can sing, “Victory, victory, victory!” through him that 
loved you. I tell you, we may preach fifty thousand ser¬ 
mons to prove the gospel, but we shall not prove it half so 
well as you will through singing in the night. Keep a cheer- 
730 ful frame; keep a happy heart; keep a contented spirit; 
keep your eye up, and your heart aloft, and you will prove 
Christianity better than all the Butlers, and all the wise 
men that ever lived. Give them the analogy of a holy life, 
and then you will prove religion to them; give them the 
735 evidence of internal piety, developed externally, and you will 
give the best possible proof of Christianity. Try and sing 
songs in the night; for they are so rare, that if thou canst 
sing them, thou wilt honor thy God. 

I have been preaching all this while to the children of 
740 God, and now there is a sad turn that this subject must take, 
just one moment or so, and then we have done. There is a 
night coming, in which there will be no songs of joy—a night 
in which no one will even attempt to lead a chorus. There 
is a night coming when a song shall be sung, of which misery 
745 shall be the subject, set to the music of wailing and gnashing 
of teeth; there is a night coming, when woe, unutterable 
woe, shall be the matter of an awful terrific miserbre —when 
the orchestra shall be composed of damned men, and howling 
fiends, and yelling demons; and mark you, I speak what I 
750 do know, and testify the Scriptures. There is a night com¬ 
ing for a poor soul within this house to-night; and unless he 
repent, it will be a night wherein he will have to growl, and 


SPURGEON: “SONGS IN THE NIGHT 


145 


howl, and sigh, and cry, and moan and groan forever. “ Who 
is that?” sayest thou. Thyself, my friend, if thou art god¬ 
less and Christless. “What!” sayest thou, “am I in danger 
of hell-fire?” In danger, my friend! Ay, more: thou art 
damned already. So saith the Bible. Sayest thou, “And 
can you leave me without telling me what I must do to be 
saved? Can you believe that I am in danger of perishing, 
and not speak to me?” I trust not; I hope I shall never 
preach a sermon without speaking to the ungodly, for O! 
how I love them. Swearer, your mouth is black with oaths 
now; and if you die, you must go on blaspheming throughout 
eternity, and be punished for it throughout eternity. But 
list to me, blasphemer! Dost thou repent to-night? Dost 
thou feel thyself to have sinned against God? Dost thou 
feel a desire to be saved? List thee! thou mayest be saved; 
thou mayest be saved as much as any one that is now here. 
There is another; she has sinned against God enormously, 
and she blushes even now, while I mention her case. Dost 
thou repent of thy sin ? There is hope for thee. Remember 
him who said, “Go, and sin no more.” Drunkard! but a 
little while ago thou wast reeling down the street, and now 
thou repentest. Drunkard! there is hope for thee. “Well,” 
sayest thou, “what shall I do to be saved?” Then again 
let me tell thee the old way of salvation. It is, “Believe in 
the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou art saved.” We can get 
no further than that, do what we will; this is the sum and 
substance of the gospel. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, 
and be baptized, and thou shalt be saved. So saith the 
Scripture. Dost thou ask, “What is it to believe?” Am I 
to tell thee again? I cannot tell thee, except that it is to 
look at Christ. Dost thou see that Saviour there? He is 
hanging on the cross; there are his dear hands, pierced with 
nails, nailed to a tree, as if they were waiting for thy tardy 
footsteps, because thou wouldst not come. Dost thou see 
his dear head there? It is hanging on his breast, as if he 


755 

760 

765 

770 

775 

780 

785 


146 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


would lean over and kiss thy poor soul. Dost thou see his 
blood, gushing from his head, his hands, his feet, his side? 
790 It is running after thee; because he well knew that thou 
wouldst never run after it. Sinner! to be saved, all that thou 
hast to do is, to look at that Man. Canst thou do it now ? 
“No,” sayest thou, “I do not believe it will save me.” Ah! 
my poor friend, try it; and if thou dost not succeed, when 
795 thou hast tried it, I am bondsman for my Lord—here, take 
me, bind me, and I will suffer thy doom for thee. This I 
will venture to say: if thou castest thyself on Christ, and he 
deserteth thee, I will be willing to go halves with thee in all 
thy misery and woe. For he will never do it: never, never, 
800 never! 

No sinner was ever 
Empty sent back, 

Who came seeking mercy 
For Jesus’ sake. 

805 I beseech thee, therefore, try him, and thou shalt not try 
him in vain, but shalt find him “ able to save to the uttermost 
them that come unto God by him.” Thou shalt be saved 
now, and saved forever. 

May God give you his blessing! I cannot preach as 
810 earnestly as I could wish; but, nevertheless, may God accept 
these words, and send them home to some hearts this night! 
and may you, my dear brethren and sisters, have songs in 
the night! 


SPURGEON: “SONGS IN THE NIGHT 


147 


GENERAL NOTES 

I. Impressions.—This is a typical sermon; it could 
not possibly be confused with an essay or oration. The 
note of certainty is constantly sounded. Spurgeon is 
sure that he knows the cure for all human ills and can give 
men their one and only “song in the night.” The 
Calvinism and Second Adventism stand out clearly. 
The biblical assurance is fundamental. Discuss these 
qualities as they should appear in contemporary preach¬ 
ing. How far could they be used today? With what 
modifications? 

II. Analysis.—The divisions are clearly indicated. 
Was this probably done when the sermon was prepared 
for publication? Compare Robertson, Brooks, Chalmers. 
What are the arguments for and against this method? 

III. Title.—Note the intriguing beauty of sugges¬ 
tion. Is there any danger that such titles become senti¬ 
mental or “ mushy”? How does this title arrest attention 
and create interest? 

IV. Text.—Study the use of this text in comparison 
with the sermons that have preceded. The original 
text in its entirety is abandoned after a brief discussion; 
then an interrogative sentence is abbreviated and made 
into a declarative sentence. Is such treatment of a text 
justifiable? 

VI. Proposition.—Not formally stated. Would this 
be adequate: “But, blessed be God, the Christian man 
can say, ‘My God giveth me songs in the night’” (p. 125, 
11 . 69, 70)? Or, should everything ejaculatory be cut 
out, and the proposition be simply, “My God giveth 
me songs in the night”? Or, is this better, “God 


148 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


gives men songs in the night” ? Or this, “ God is the 
complete source of comfort and courage for men”? 
What is the value of the words, “blessed be God”? 
Ought a proposition to be severely logical, or may emo¬ 
tional and pietistic terms be used? 

VIII. Conclusion.—Spurgeon’s conclusion is a con¬ 
spicuous example of the impassioned appeal for repent¬ 
ance and faith, based upon the certainty of retribution 
for sin and a vivid sense of hell. It follows inevitably 
from the sermon. It is the evangelistic “appeal for a 
verdict” in one of its most complete expressions. How 
far can such a conclusion be used in the modern pulpit? 
Compare it with Bushnell and Chalmers. Suggest the 
substitution of any factors that seem to you more effec¬ 
tive. 

IX. Plan.—This is what has been called the “Adverb 
Method” in sermon development. See Davis, Preaching 
by Laymen , 1923, pages 131-33, for fuller discussion. Is 
the climax actually reached with the completion of II? 
And would Spurgeon have done well if he had stopped 
there? 

X. Material.—There is a large biblical factor in the 
sermon. Spurgeon may be called a “Bible preacher.” 
Note the exegesis of Ps. 121:1, 2 at page 123, lines 14-18, 
comparing American Standard and Authorized Versions. 
Study with especial care the reference to the weavers 
of Spitalfields (p. 135, 1 . 418, to p. 136, 1 . 448). Is this 
an adequate treatment of the economic problem in the 
light of the teachings of Jesus? Could anything more 
have been offered to the poor man? How would a 
preacher today probably handle the same situation? 


SPURGEON: “SONGS IN THE NIGHT 


149 


Does Spurgeon’s treatment of the problem give warrant 
for the criticism that the church offers only the solace 
and reward of an earthly or heavenly joy for the satis¬ 
faction of the woes that arise under the modern industrial 
system? What would Walter Rauschenbusch have said 
in this case? Does this instance furnish any conclusion 
concerning the preaching of the social gospel? 

XI. Illustrations.—Spurgeon was a master in the use 
of vivid and pertinent illustrations. One of the best 
manuals ever written on the subject is his book, The 
Art of Illustration. The voluminous and accurate 
working of his mind is seen in the swift movement of the 
sentences (p. 132, 11 . 302-17). Here appear in rapid 
succession the following figures: 

1. Moses in the ark of bulrushes 

2. A buried and therefore forgotten diary 

3. The hill Mizar (Ps. 42:6) 

4. Mount Hermon and the Transfiguration (Matt. 
17:1-8) 

5. The Delectable Mountains, from Pilgrim's Progress 

6. Daniel in the den of lions 

7. David and his exploits with the lion and bear (I Sam. 
17:36) 

8. The lamplighter, a familiar scene from daily life 

What does this indicate concerning the way in which 
Spurgeon’s mind was charged with illustrative material 
so that he thought in figures? Is there too much of it, 
so that the minds of his hearers were likely to be confused? 
Ought more than one illustration to be used to enforce a 
point? 

Study especially the homely illustrations from daily 
life, such as the singing pebbles and chanting waves 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


150 

(p. 124, 1 . 46); the Aeolian harp (p. 125, 1 . 88); the 
gold-beater (p. 128, 11. 180-85); priming the pump 
(p. 128, 11 . 191-96); God’s everlasting love (p. 130, 11 . 
246-53); getting the cable around the mooring-post 
(p. 132, 11. 321-28); the devil putting his hand over 
one’s mouth (p. 138, 1. 532); death having his last 
tug (p. 139, 1. 549); whistling to keep up one’s courage 
(p. 140, 1 . 594). What principles concerning the use of 
illustrations do you derive from these instances? 

XIV. Style.—The style in this sermon is different 
from that of any other thus far studied. Compare 
especially Bushnell and Chalmers. Note the frequent use 
of archaic forms, “hath,” “seemeth,” “shineth.” Does 
this seem an affectation? Or does it give a certain quaint¬ 
ness and charm which is pleasing? Would the use of 
these forms be warranted in the modern pulpit? Note 
also the reflection of hymns in the style. For example, 
“sonnets” (p. 128, 1. 171; p. 130, 1. 261), reflecting the 
familiar lines 

Teach me some melodious sonnet 
Sung by flaming choirs above. 

Can a sonnet be sung? Note also (p. 139, 11 . 553- 
58) a reflection of 

Then in a nobler, sweeter song 
I’ll sing his power to save. 

How far is this paraphrasing of familiar hymns 
effective in preaching today? 

XV. General observations.—(1) The intense Calvin¬ 
ism of the sermon. It is profoundly doctrinal. There 
is no doubt about Spurgeon’s biblicism and orthodox 


SPURGEON: “SONGS IN THE NIGHT” 151 

theology. He is completely convinced of his doctrinal 
positions. 

2. The human sympathy in the sermon. It is close 
to the needs of common men and the experiences of 
daily life. One knows that this is a lover of mankind 
and a true pastor, preaching what seems to him a message 
which bears directly upon life. 

3. It is a comforting sermon. Whatever judgment one 
holds concerning the adequacy of the comfort offered, 
no doubt can exist that the sermon leaves those who heard 
it with a keener sense that God actually cares and is on 
their side in their struggles. 

4. It is a sermon that will be remembered. The 
points are clearly and forcefully made and the final 
appeal is fervid and sincere. 


SERMON STUDY VII 

NEWMAN, “CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD MADE MAN” 

INTRODUCTORY NOTES 

John Henry Newman, English, Roman Catholic 
cardinal, was born in London, February 21, 1801, and 
died August n, 1890. He became a clergyman in the 
Church of England and was early recognized as a preacher 
of high intellectual quality and spiritual power. In 
close comradeship with Keble and Richard Hurrell 
Froude, he soon assumed the most influential place in a 
tendency toward the Roman Catholic church which 
became known as the Oxford Movement. It carried 
Newman into the Roman Catholic communion, into 
which he was received in 1845. In defense of his integ¬ 
rity, Newman published in 1864 the Apologia pro Vita 
Sua, one of the most interesting and subtle spiritual 
biographies ever written. He was created cardinal in 
1879 - 

Cardinal Newman is ranked as one of the greatest 
English preachers. His Parochial and Plain Sermons 
occupy eight volumes. The one selected for study is in 
Volume VI, pages 53-68. It is a type of doctrinal 
preaching in its most dogmatic form. Many of New¬ 
man’s sermons are on phases of Christian experience 
and are profound in insight and illuminating in exposition. 
The sermon studied, however, is chosen as an example of 
a method which is used by preachers of all schools, and 
which is seen in certain sections of Spurgeon’s sermon. 


15a 


NEWMAN: “CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD” 153 


The Parochial and Plain Sermons were preached at 
St. Mary’s Church in Oxford. Dr. Cadman speaks of 
“his analysis of the human heart, his exquisite rhetoric, 
his tender or indignant fervor.” 

Mr. Gladstone said: 

Dr. Newman’s manner in the pulpit was one which, if 
you considered it in its separate parts, would lead you to 
arrive at very unsatisfactory conclusions. There was not 
very much change in the inflection of the voice; action there 
was none; his sermons were read, and his eyes were always 
on his book; and all that, you will say, is against efficiency 
in preaching. Yes; but you take the man as a whole, and 
there was a stamp and a seal upon him, there was a solemn 
music and sweetness in his tone, there was a completeness 
in the figure, taken together with the tone and with the 
manner, which made even his delivery, such as I have 
described it, and though exclusively with written sermons, 
singularly attractive. 

Besides the Parochial and Plain Sermons, all of which 
are worthy of careful study, the Apologia pro Vita Sua 
should be read. See also excellent essays in Cadman, 
The Three Religious Leaders of Oxford , and Lytton 
Strachey, Eminent Victorians . 


i54 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD MADE MAN 

Christ being come, an High Priest of good things to come, by a 
greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to 
say, not of this building.—Heb. 9:11. 

Before the Passover the Jews numbered fourteen days, 
and then the Feast came. It was to be the fourteenth day 
of the month, at even; and to mark the beginning of that 
period more distinctly, it was made the beginning of months, 
5 that is, the first month of the year. We then, if our Easter 
answers to the Passover, as substance answers to shadow, 
may well account that from this day, which is fourteen days 
before Easter, a more sacred season begins. And so our 
Church seems to have determined it, since from this day 
10 the character of the Services changes. Henceforth they have 
more immediate reference to Him, whose death and resurrec¬ 
tion we are soon to commemorate. The first weeks in Lent 
are spent in repentance, though with the thought of Him 
withal, who alone can give grace and power to our penitential 
15 exercises; the last, without precluding repentance, are more 
especially consecrated to the thought of those sufferings, 
whereby grace and power were purchased for us. 

The history of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; 
of Dinah, Jacob’s daughter; and of Joseph in Potiphar’s 
20 house; the account of our Lord’s temptation; and the parable 
of the man out of whom the evil spirit went and returned 
sevenfold, which have been read on Sundays at this season, 
may fitly be called penitential subjects; and of the same 
character have been the Epistles. On the other hand, 
25 to-day’s Epistle, from which the text is taken, speaks of 
Christ’s Incarnation and Atonement; while the Gospel tells 
us of His Divinity, He being that same God who, as the first 
Morning Lesson relates, called Himself in the bush “I am 
that I am.” And so again, next Sunday’s Epistle is also upon 
30 our Lord’s Divinity and voluntary humiliation, and one of 
the Lessons and the Gospel contain the sacred narrative of 


NEWMAN: “CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD” 


155 


His passion and death. The other second Lesson is also on 
the subject of His humiliation, from St. Paul. And further: 
all four first Lessons of to-day and next Sunday relate to the 
deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt, which is the type of 35 
our redemption. 

Let us then to-day, in accordance with the apparent 
disposition of our Services, remind ourselves of one or two 
of the great truths which the Epistle contains—of course we 
cannot do so with any great exactness or completeness—but 40 
still, sufficiently to serve, through God’s mercy, as a sort of 
preparation for the solemn days which lie before us in the 
course of the next fortnight. It will be a fitting preparation, 
please God, for Good Friday, to bear in mind who our Lord 
is, and what He has done for us. And, at present, let us 45 
confine ourselves to this one subject, who our Lord is—God 
and man in one Person. On this most sacred and awful 
subject, I shall speak as simply and plainly as I can; merely 
stating what has to be stated, after the pattern of the Creeds, 
and leaving those who hear me, as the Creeds leave them, to 50 
receive it into their hearts fruitfully, and to improve it, 
under God’s grace, for themselves. 

Let us, I say, consider who Christ is, as the Epistle for 
the day sets forth in the words of the text. 

1. First, Christ is God: from eternity He was the Living 55 
and True God. This is not mentioned expressly in the 
Epistle for this day, though it is significantly implied there 
in various ways; but it is all but expressly stated, and that 
by Himself, in the Gospel. He says there, “Before Abraham 
was, I am,” 1 by which words He declares that He did not 60 
begin to exist from the Virgin’s womb, but had been in 
existence before. And by using the words I am , He seems 
to allude, as I have already said, to the Name of God, which 
was revealed to Moses in the burning bush, when he was 
commanded to say to the children of Israel, “ I am hath 65 

1 John 8:58. 


15^ 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


sent me unto you.” 1 Again: St. Paul says of Christ, that 
He was “in the form of God,” and “thought it not robbery 
to be equal with God,” yet “made Himself of no reputation.” 
In like manner St. John says: “In the beginning was the 
70 Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” 
And St. Thomas addressed Him as his Lord and his God; 
and St. Paul declares that He is “ God over all, blessed for¬ 
ever”; and the prophet Isaiah, that He is “the mighty God, 
the Everlasting Father”; and St. Paul again, that He is 
75 “our great God and Saviour”; and St. Jude, that He is 
“our only Sovereign God and Lord.” 2 It is not necessary, 
surely, to enlarge on this point, which is constantly brought 
before us in Scripture and in our Services. “Day by day 
we magnify Him, and we worship His Name ever world 
80 without end”; which would be idolatry were He not the 
Very and Eternal God, our Maker and Lord. We know, 
indeed, that the Father is God also, and so is the Holy Ghost; 
but still Christ is God and Lord, most fully, completely, and 
entirely, in all attributes as perfect and as adorable, as if 
85 nothing had been told us of Father and of Holy Ghost; as 
much to be adored, as, before He came in the flesh, the 
Father was adored by the Jews, and is now to be adored by 
us “in spirit and in truth.” For He tells us expressly Him¬ 
self, “He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father”; and 
90 “all men” are to “honour the Son, even as they honour the 
Father”; and “He that honoureth not the Son, honoureth 
not the Father which hath sent Him.” 3 

2. And here we are brought to the second point of doctrine 
which it is necessary to insist upon, that while our Lord is 
95 God He is also Son of God, or rather, that He is God because 
He is the Son of God. We are apt, at first hearing, to say 

1 Exod. 3:14. 

3 Phil. 11:6, 7; John 1:1; 20:28; Rom. 9:5; Isa. 9:6; Tit. 21:3; 
Jude, chap. 4. 

3 John 14:9; 5:23. 


NEWMAN: “CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD” 157 


that He is God though He is the Son of God, marvelling at 
the mystery. But what to man is a mystery, to God is a 
cause. He is God, not though , but because He is the Son of 
God. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, that which 100 
is born of the Spirit is spirit,” and that which is begotten of 
God is God. I do not say that we could presume thus to 
reason for ourselves, but Scripture draws the conclusion for 
us. Christ tells us Himself, “as the Father has life in Him* 
self, so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself.” 105 
And St. Paul says that He is “ the brightness of God’s glory, 
and the express Image of His Person.” 1 And thus, though 
we could not presume to reason of ourselves that He that is 
begotten of God is God, as if it became us to reason at all 
about such ineffable things, yet, by the light of Scripture, no 
we may. And after all, if the truth must be said, it is surely 
not so marvellous and mysterious that the Son of God should 
be God, as that there should be a Son of God at all. It is as 
little level to natural reason that God should have a Son, 
as that, if there be a Son, He must be God because He is the 115 
Son. Both are mysteries; and if we admit with Scripture 
that there be an Only-begotten Son, it is even less to admit 
what Scripture also teaches, that that Only-begotten Son is 
God because He is Only-begotten. And that is what makes 
the doctrine of our Lord’s Eternal Sonship of such supreme 120 
importance, viz., that He is God because He is begotten of 
God; and they who give up the latter truth, are in the way 
to give up, or will be found already to have given up, the 
former. The great safeguard to the doctrine of our Lord’s 
Divinity is the doctrine of His Sonship; we realize that He 125 
is God only when we acknowledge Him to be by nature and 
from eternity Son. 

Nay, our Lord’s Sonship is not only the guarantee to us 
of His Godhead, but also the condition of His incarnation. 

As the Son was God, so on the other hand was the Son 130 

1 John 5:26; Heb. 1:3. 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


158 

suitably made man; it belonged to Him to have the Father’s 
perfections, it became Him to assume a servant’s form. We 
must beware of supposing that the Persons of the Ever-blessed 
and All-holy Trinity differ from each other only in this, that 
135 the Father is not the Son, and the Son is not the Father. 
They differ in this besides, that the Father is the Father, and 
the Son is the Son. While They are one in substance, Each 
has distinct characteristics which the Other has not. Surely 
those sacred Names have a meaning in them, and must not 
140 lightly be passed over. And they will be found, if we rev¬ 
erently study them, to supply a very merciful use towards 
our understanding Scripture; for we shall see a fitness, I say, 
now that that sacred truth is revealed, in the Son of God 
taking flesh, and we shall thereby understand better what He 
145 says of Himself in the Gospels. The Son of God became the 
Son a second time, though not a second Son, by becoming 
man. He was a Son both before His incarnation, and by 
a second mystery, after it. From eternity He had been the 
Only-begotten in the bosom of the Father; and when He 
150 came on earth, this essential relation to the Father remained 
unaltered; still, He was a Son, when in the form of a servant— 
still performing the will of the Father, as His Father’s Word 
and Wisdom, manifesting His Father’s glory and accomplish¬ 
ing His Father’s purposes. 

155 For instance, take the following passages of Scripture: 
“I do nothing of Myself”; “He that sent Me is with Me”; 
“the Father hath not left Me alone,” “My Father worketh 
hitherto, and I work”; “Whatsoever I speak, even as the 
Father said unto Me, so I speak”; “I am in the Father, and 
160 the Father in Me.” 1 Now, it is true, these passages may be 
understood of our Lord’s human nature; but surely, if we 
confine them to this interpretation, we run the risk of view¬ 
ing Christ as two separate beings, not as one Person; or, 
again, of gradually forgetting or explaining away the doctrine 
*1011118:28, 29; 5:17; 12:50; 14:10. 


NEWMAN: “CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD” 159 


of His Divinity altogether. If we speak as if our Lord had 165 
a human personality, then, if He has another personality as 
God, He is not one Person; and if He has not, He is not God. 
Such passages, then, as the foregoing, would seem to speak 
neither of Christ’s human nature simply, nor of His divine, 
but of both together; that is, of Him who being the Son of 170 
God is also man. He who spoke was one really existing 
Person, and He, that one Living and Almighty Son, both 
God and man, was the brightness of God’s glory and His 
Power, and wrought what His Father willed, and was in 
the Father and the Father in Him, not only in heaven but 175 
on earth. In heaven He was this, and did this, as God; 
and on earth He was this, and did this, in that manhood 
which He assumed, but whether in heaven, or on earth, still 
as the Son. It was therefore true of Him altogether , when He 
spoke, that He was not alone, nor spoke or wrought of Him- 180 
self, but where He was, there was the Father, and whoso 
had seen Him had seen the Father, whether we think of 
Him as God or as man. 

Again, we read in Scripture of His being sent by the 
Father, addressing the Father, interceding to Him for His 185 
disciples, and declaring to them that His Father is greater 
than He; in what sense says and does He all this? Some 
will be apt to say that He speaks only in His human nature; 
words which are perplexing to the mind that tries really to 
contemplate Him as Scripture describes Him, as if He were 190 
speaking only under a representation, and not in His Person. 

No; it is truer to say that He, that One All-gracious Son of 
God, who had been with the Father from the beginning, 
equal in all divine perfections and one in substance, but 
subordinate as being the Son—as He had ever been His 195 
Word, and Wisdom, and Counsel, and Will, and Power in 
Heaven—so after His incarnation, and upon the earth, still 
spoke and acted after, yet with, the Father as before, though 
in a new nature, which He had put on, and in humiliation. 


i6o 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


200 This, then, is the second point of doctrine which I had 
to mention, that our Lord was not only God, but the Son of 
God. We know more than that God took on Him our flesh; 
though all is mysterious, we have a point of knowledge 
further and more distinct, viz., that it was neither the Father 
205 nor the Holy Ghost, but the Son of the Father, God the Son, 
God from God, and Light from Light, who came down upon 
earth, and who thus, though graciously taking on Him a new 
nature, remained in Person as He had been from everlasting, 
the Son of the Father, and spoke and acted towards the 
210 Father as a Son. 

3. Now, thirdly, let us proceed to consider His mercy in 
taking on Him our nature, and what that act of mercy implies. 
The text speaks of “a greater and more perfect tabernacle,” 
that is, greater than anything earthly. This means His pure 
215 and sinless flesh, which was miraculously formed of the sub¬ 
stance of the Blessed Virgin, and therefore called “not of 
this building,” or more literally, “not of this creation,” for 
it was a new creation by which He was formed, even by the 
descent of the Holy Ghost. This was the new and perfect 
220 tabernacle into which He entered; entered, but not to be 
confined, not to be circumscribed by it. The Most High 
dwelleth not in temples made with hands; though His own 
hands “made it and fashioned it,” still He did not cease to 
be what He was, because He became man, but was still the 
225 Infinite God, manifested in, not altered by the flesh. He took 
upon Him our nature, as an instrument of His purposes, not 
as an agent in the work. What is one thing cannot become 
another; His manhood remained human, and His Godhead 
remained divine. God became man, yet was still God, 
230 having His manhood as an adjunct, perfect in its kind, but 
dependent upon His Godhead. So much so, that unless 
Scripture had expressly called Him man, we might well have 
scrupled to do so. Left to ourselves, we might have felt it 
more reverential to have spoken of Him, as incarnate indeed, 


NEWMAN: “CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD” 161 


come in human flesh, human and the like, but not simply as 235 
man. But St. Paul speaks in plain terms of our one Mediator 
as “the man Christ Jesus,” not to speak of our Lord’s own 
words on the subject. Still, we must ever remember, that 
though He was in nature perfect man, He was not man in 
exactly the same sense in which any one of us is a man. 240 
Though man, He was not, strictly speaking, in the English 
sense of the word, a man; He was not such as one of us, and 
one out of a number. He was man because He had our 
human nature wholly and perfectly, but His Person is not 
human like ours, but divine. He who was from eternity, 245 
continued one and the same, but with an addition. His 
incarnation was a “taking of the manhood into God.” As 
He had no earthly father, so He has no human personality. 

We may not speak of Him as we speak of any individual man, 
acting from and governed by a human intelligence within 250 
Him, but He was God, acting not only as God, but now 
through the flesh also, when He would. He was not a man 
made God, but God made man. 

(1) Thus, when He prayed to His Father, it was not the 
prayer of a man supplicating God, but of the Eternal Son of 255 
God who had ever shared the glory of the Father, addressing 
Him, as before, but under far other circumstances, and in a 
new way, not according to those most intimate and ineffable 
relations which belonged to Him who was in the bosom of 
the Father, but in the economy of redemption, and in a lower 260 
world, viz., through the feelings and thoughts of human nature. 
When He wept at the grave of Lazarus, or sighed at the Jews’ 
hardness of heart, or looked round about in anger, or had 
compassion on the multitudes, He manifested the tender 
mercy, the compassion, the long-suffering, the fearful wrath 265 
of Almighty God, yet not in Himself, as from eternity, but 
as if indirectly through the outlets of that manhood with 
which He had clothed Himself. 


162 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


(2) When “ He spat on the ground and made clay of the 
270 spittle, and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the 
clay,” 1 He exerted the virtue of His Divine Essence through 
the properties and circumstances of the flesh. When He 
breathed on His disciples and said, “Receive ye the Holy 
Ghost,” 2 He vouchsafed to give His Holy Spirit through 
275 the breath of His human nature. When virtue went out 
of Him, so that whoso touched Him was made whole, here 
too, in like manner, He shows us that He was not an indi¬ 
vidual man, like any of us, but God acting through human 
nature as His assumed instrument. 

280 (3) When He poured out His precious blood upon the 

Cross, it was not a man’s blood, though it belonged to His 
manhood, but blood full of power and virtue, instinct with 
life and grace, as issuing most mysteriously from Him who 
was the Creator of the world. And the case is the same in 
285 every successive communication of Himself to individual 
Christians. As He became the Atoning Sacrifice by means of 
His human nature, so is He our High Priest in heaven by 
means of the same. He is now in heaven, entered into the 
Holy place, interceding for us, and dispensing blessings to 
290 us, He gives us abundantly of His Spirit; but still He gives 
It not at once from His Divine nature, though from eternity 
the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Son as well as from the 
Father, but by means of that incorruptible flesh which He 
has taken on Him. For Christ is come a High Priest through 
295 the perfect tabernacle which He assumed, a tabernacle not 
of this creation, or in the ordinary course of nature, but 
framed miraculously of the substance of the Virgin by the 
Holy Ghost; and therefore the streams of life flow to us from 
Him, as God indeed, but still as God incarnate. “ That which 
300 quickeneth us is the Spirit of the Second Adam, and His flesh 
is that wherewith He quickeneth.” 

1 John 9:6. 


3 John 20:22. 


NEWMAN: “CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD” 163 

(4) I shall mention a fourth and last point in this great 
mystery. I have said that our High Priest and Saviour, the 
Son of God, when He took our nature upon Him, acted 
through it, without ceasing to be what He was before, mak¬ 
ing it but the instrument of His gracious purposes. But it 
must not be supposed, because it was an instrument, or 
because in the text it is called a tabernacle, that therefore it 
was not intimately one with Him, or that it was merely like 
what is commonly meant by a tabernacle, which a man dwells 
in, and may come in and out of; or like an instrument 
which a man takes up and lays down. Far from it; though 
His Divine Nature was sovereign and supreme when He 
became incarnate, yet the manhood which He assumed was 
not kept at a distance from Him (if I may so speak) as a 
mere instrument, or put on as a mere garment, or entered as a 
mere tabernacle, but it was really taken into the closest and 
most ineffable union with Him. He received it into His 
Divine Essence (if we may dare so to speak) almost as a 
new attribute of His Person; of course I speak by way of 
analogy, but I mean as simply and indissolubly. Let us 
consider what is meant by God’s justice, or mercy, or wisdom, 
and we shall perhaps have some glimpse of the meaning of 
the inspired writers, when they speak of the Son’s incarna¬ 
tion. If we said that the Son of God is just or merciful, we 
should mean that these are attributes which attach to all Pie 
is or was. Whatever He says, whatever He designs, whatever 
He works, He is just and loving when He thus says, designs, 
or works. There never was a moment, there never was an 
act of providence, in which God wrought, without His being 
just and loving, even though both attributes may not be 
exercised at once in the same act. In somewhat the same 
way the Son of God is man; all that is necessary to constitute 
a perfect manhood is attached to His eternal Person abso¬ 
lutely and entirely, belonging to Him as really and fully as His 
justice, truth, or power; so that it would be as unmeaning 


305 

310 

315 

320 

325 

330 

335 


164 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


to speak of dividing one of His attributes from Him as to 
separate from Him His manhood. 

This throws light upon the Catholic tenet, that the God- 
340 head and Manhood were “joined together in One Person, 
never to be divided”; words which also serve too often to 
bring home to us how faintly we master the true doctrine: 
for we are sometimes tempted to ask, where is it said in 
Scripture that the manhood shall never be divided from the 
345 Godhead ? Which is as incongruous a question as if we were 
to ask whether God’s justice, mercy, or holiness can be divided 
from Him; or whether Scripture ever declares that this or 
that attribute may not disappear: for as these have no 
real existence except as in God, neither has our Lord’s man- 
350 hood except as in His Divine nature; it never subsisted 
except as belonging to His divinity; it has no substance in 
itself. 

Thus all that He did and said on earth was but the 
immediate deed and word of God the Son acting by means of 
355 His human tabernacle. He surrounded Himself with it; 
He lodged it within Him; and thenceforth the Eternal Word, 
the Son of God, the Second Person in the Blessed Trinity, had 
two natures, the one His own as really as the other, Divine 
and human; and He acted through both of them, sometimes 
360 through both at once, sometimes through one and not 
through the other, as Almighty God acts sometimes by the 
attribute of justice, sometimes by that of love, sometimes 
through both together. He was as entirely man as if He 
had ceased to be God, as fully God as if He had never be- 
365 come man, as fully both at once as He was in being at all. 

The Athanasian Creed expresses all this as follows: 
“The right faith is, that we believe and confess that our Lord 
Jesus Christ the Son of God is God and Man; God of the sub¬ 
stance of His Father, begotten before the worlds; and Man of 
370 the substance of His Mother, born in the world. Perfect God; 
and perfect Man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh sub- 


NEWMAN: “CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD” 165 


sisting: who, although He be God and Man, yet is not two 
but one Christ; one, not by conversion of the Godhead into 
flesh,” as if He could cease to be God, “but by taking of the 
Manhood into God,” taking it into His Divine Person as 375 
His own; “one altogether, not by confusion of substance,” 
not by the Divine Nature and the human becoming some 
one new nature, as if He ceased to be God, and did not 
become a man, “but by unity of Person” This is what 
His unity consists in—not unity of nature, but in this, that 380 
He who came on earth, was the very Same who had been 
from everlasting. 

In conclusion, let me observe, that we ought not to speak, 
we ought not to hear, such high truths, without great rever¬ 
ence and awe, and preparation of mind. And this is a reason, 385 
perhaps, why this is a proper season for dwelling on them; 
when we have been engaged, not in mirth and festivity, but 
in chastening and sobering ourselves. The Psalmist says, 
“Lord, I am not high minded; I have no proud looks. I do 
not exercise myself in great matters which are too high for 390 
me. But I refrain my soul and keep it low, like as a child 
that is weaned from his mother.” When we are engaged in 
weaning ourselves from this world, when we are denying 
ourselves even lawful things, when we have a subdued tone 
of thought and feeling, then is an allowable time surely to 395 
speak of the high mysteries of the faith. And then, too, are 
they especially a comfort to us; but those who neglect 
fasting, make light of orthodoxy too. But to those who 
through God’s grace are otherwise minded, the Creed of the 
Church brings relief; when, amid the gloom of their own 400 
hearts, Christ rises like the Sun of righteousness, giving them 
peace for disquiet, “beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourn¬ 
ing, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that 
they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the 
Lord that He may be glorified.” 


405 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


166 


GENERAL NOTES 

I. Impression.—The purpose of this sermon is to 
present the doctrine of the deity of Christ as it is expressed 
in the Athanasian Creed, bulwarking every statement by 
proof-texts from the Bible. The method is different 
from that used by any preacher that we have studied: 
affirmation rather than discussion. Therefore this 
sermon should be carefully studied in order to discover 
the strength and weakness of dogmatic preaching. 

II. Analysis.—Note the proportion in this order: 
Introduction, 2; I, 2; II, 4; HI, 7; Conclusion, 1; 
a total of 16. 

Excepting the unusual length of the Introduction, 
this is excellent proportion, allowing the points additional 
time as they grow in importance. 

V. Subject.—Announced definitely (p. 155, 11 . 46-47) 
“Who our Lord is—God and man in one Person.” He 
then describes this subject as “most sacred and awful,” 
stating that he will speak on it “as plainly and simply” 
as he can. Does a sermon gain anything from such an 
announcement of the subject and method of treatment? 

VI. Proposition.—There is no formal statement of 
the proposition. It is clearly implied in the title, where 
the copula is may be supplied in place of the comma, 
making the title read, “Christ is the Son of God made 
man,” which is the precise proposition of the sermon. 
Another way in which the proposition is handled is by 
distributing it in the three divisions of the sermon: 
“Christ is God; Christ is incarnate Son of God; this 
is the supreme revelation of God’s mercy.” Is this an 
effective method of handling a proposition? 


NEWMAN: “CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD” 167 


VII. Introduction.—This is the longest and most 
formal introduction studied. Note that the force of it 
is determined by the liturgical character of the church 
and the interest of the people in the observance of Lent 
and the lectionary of the Christian year. What does 
this suggest concerning the adaptation of an introduction 
to the popular mood? Study the first two sentences 
carefully. To what does the second it in the second 
sentence refer, to feast or to month ? Could the sentences 
be condensed as follows: “The Jews made the Passover 
month the first month of the Year and placed the Feast 
on the fourteenth day.” What would be lost and gained 
by such a revision? Note the use of formal phrases, 
“through God’s mercy” (p. 155, 1 . 41); “Please God” 
(p- i 55 > 1 - 44); “under God’s grace” (p. 155, 1 . 52). 
Is there danger that these will become mere empty 
ejaculations? Suggest cautions governing their use. 
Note the exaltation of the creeds of the church and the 
indication of their finality (p. 155, 11 . 47-52). Study 
the “take it or leave it” suggestion. Compare Spurgeon 
in this respect. What would be the influence of such a 
statement upon a congregation that does not place 
creeds in the first rank of importance? Is the preacher’s 
appeal finally to the authority of the creeds, the Bible, 
or the truth that he brings forth in his sermon? Note 
the strength of the dogmatic position in the assur¬ 
ance it gives to the preacher and the congregation. Is 
there also a weakness to be noted ? Note the ways 
in which this Introduction meets (a) the occasion of 
the sermon, ( b ) the temper of the congregation, (c) the 
spirit of the preacher, (d) the development of the 
thought. 


i 68 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


VIII. Conclusion.—It is marked off clearly from the 
body of the sermon. Study it critically in comparison 
with Spurgeon. Each is urgent and hortatory; each 
makes a direct appeal to the will of the hearers. The 
courses of action are different, however, as are the grounds 
on which they are urged. Note Newman’s repeated 
emphasis on the “high mysteries” of the faith. How 
valid is such an appeal today? Note also the stress upon 
unquestioning acceptance of the Athanasian Creed and 
the insight that comes through fasting and self-denial. 
Would these be cogent reasons in the case of the congrega¬ 
tion to which Newman was preaching? What would 
have been the value of such an appeal in the case of 
Spurgeon’s congregation? What principle do you derive 
concerning the relation between the congregation and 
the conclusion of the sermon? 

X. Material.—This sermon is a conspicuous example 
of the use of biblical and doctrinal (creedal) materials 
in a sermon. On the basis of Scripture texts and creedal 
statements, the sermon consists of a series of affirmations. 
What is presupposed concerning the mental and religious 
attitude of the congregation? What is required on the 
part of a preacher in order to enable him to use these 
materials effectively? When is such preaching desirable? 
If not all the time, under what conditions ? 

Study the way in which Newman handles biblical 
material. Note the comparison between John 8:58 and 
Exod. 3:4 (p. 155, 11 . 59-65). Do you consider this 
accurate? Newman makes Isa. 9:6 refer to Christ. 
Is this correct? Note the quotation from the Te dcum 
laudamus (p. 156, 11 . 78-81). Study the following state¬ 
ments concerning the authority of Scripture: “I do 


NEWMAN: “CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD” 169 


not say that we could presume thus to reason for 
ourselves, but Scripture draws the conclusion for us” 
(p. 157, 11 . 102-4); “And thus, though we could not 
presume to reason at all about such ineffable things, yet, 
by the light of Scripture, we may” (p. 157, 11 . 107-n). 
How far is this position justifiable? With what kind of 
a congregation would it carry conviction? Newman 
regards Paul as the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews 
(p. 157, 11 . 106, 107). Is this correct? Is the citation of 
Jesus’ words to Nicodemus (p. 157, 11 . 100-2) a cogent 
argument for the deity of Christ? From a study of these 
and other instances state the principles that should 
govern the preacher’s use of the Bible in sermons. 

XIV. Style.—Note the capitalization. What is the 
reason for its use? Newman is regarded as an outstand¬ 
ing master of clear and beautiful English. How is this 
judgment confirmed by this sermon? Note the slight 
use of illustration. How do you account for it? Is 
there a distinct literary style fitted to doctrinal preaching? 


SERMON STUDY VIII 

AINSWORTH, “ STAR COUNTING AND HEART HEALING ” 

INTRODUCTORY NOTES 

Percy Clough Ainsworth, English, Wesleyan, son of a 
Wesleyan minister, was born in 1873 and died in 1909. 
He was one of a family singularly united and happy, and 
inherited the traditions of a manse. He turned naturally 
toward the ministry and was thoroughly prepared for 
his work. He was a somewhat retiring and exceedingly 
sensitive young man, although those who knew him 
intimately appreciated his keen sense of humor and his 
real strength of personality. He was a lover of outdoor 
life, an excellent athlete, something of a naturalist, 
and a writer of poetry of no mean worth. His sense of 
beauty was highly developed and the artist appears in 
his sermons. After a period of service in small parishes 
he was appointed to Wesley Chapel, Birmingham, 
where he came quickly to a position of recognized leader¬ 
ship. His home was well-nigh perfect and the primary 
source of inspiration in his preaching. He wrote con¬ 
stantly in a devotional vein, publishing his work in the 
Methodist Times. When he was only thirty-six years 
old an attack of typhoid fever ended his useful and 
gracious life. 

The sermon which we study is taken from The 
Pilgrim Church (New York: Revell), and is printed here 
by permission. It is chosen for study because of its 
intrinsic beauty and for its representative character. 


170 


AINSWORTH: “STAR COUNTING” 171 

It belongs in the group of brief sermons which have been 
called into being by the demands of the modern church 
service. Addresses at vesper worship, sermons before 
students, and the regular ministry of preaching in 
thousands of churches demand the brief, clear, urgent 
presentation of a single thought, not according to the 
older and classical models, but rather a sermon form that 
has come into existence to meet the need of a time that 
has been trained to the swift movement and the progress 
of the moving-picture film. This sermon is not normative 
of this type; but it has such intrinsic worth and such 
suggestion in respect to form that we present it as worthy 
of careful study at the close of the series. 


172 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


STAR COUNTING AND HEART HEALING 

He healeth the broken in heart; .... He telleth the number of 
the stars.—Ps. 147:3, 4- 

It is not easy for us to get these two thoughts into our 
minds at the same time. Still harder is it for us to think 
them as one thought. It seems such a far cry from all the 
stars of heaven to one poor bleeding heart—from those 
5 myriad points of fire to a few human tears. We see the 
sweep of the stars, and we walk in the shadow of pain; but 
in the bitter things we suffer, how little use we make of the 
great things we see! The stars set us dreaming and yearn¬ 
ing. They carry us out beyond the landmarks of history 
10 and the chart of experience. And then just one sharp plea 
wrung from life in its sore need—and there are no stars. In 
a moment we are shut up to the short view of life. So easily 
we get lost in the littleness and the bitterness of things. 
When the heartbreak comes the starlight goes. Yes, some- 
15 times just a little dust of the road can put the stars out for 
us. But how comes all this about? Why do starlight and 
trouble so often stand unrelated thoughts in our minds, 
unrelated facts in our lives? One answer is found in the 
make of our minds. With us one idea often excludes another 
20 that really belongs to it. We have not a large enough mental 
grasp. We look up at the stars and we forget our little world; 
we look out upon our little world and we forget the stars. 
We lose the years in the thought of the hour, and the hour 
in the thought of the ages. We seem unable to hold on to a 
25 great thought when we are in one of fife’s narrow places; 
yet it is just in that narrow place that the great thought can 
do most for us. We five by hours, and so we count by hours. 
We are pilgrims, so our standard of measurement is a step. 
In our fragmentary thinking we draw dividing fines across 
30 the undivided, and fail to see that the limited and the illimit¬ 
able are not two things but one. We stumble over the 


AINSWORTH: “STAR COUNTING” 


173 


very axioms of life. We say it is obvious that the part 
belongs to the whole; but we often act as if the whole were 
one thing and the part were another and entirely different 
thing, and as if there were no discoverable relation between 35 
the two. So when this great word about the God who num¬ 
bers the stars is given to us we say, “Let me get away from 
my little world and think it out.” And we do think it out— 
out of our reach, out of our experience, out of our lives. 
When shall we learn that we cannot get the best out of a 40 
thought simply by thinking it? To get the real help of a 
great thought you must trust it, you must live it. Nowa¬ 
days many people are so busy thinking things out that they 
scarcely ever think anything in. And it is the truth you think 
into your life that really counts. And to do that, thought 45 
must clasp hands with faith and love and toil. From a purely 
speculative and intellectual point of view I defy any man to 
preach a gospel of comfort from the text, “He telleth the 
number of the stars.” Many a man has felt his helplessness 
and his loneliness beneath the stars. He has said, God is 50 
immeasurably remote from my little life down here among the 
shadows. Is it likely that amid the vast and intricate cal¬ 
culations of the universe He will take account of an insig¬ 
nificant fraction like my life ? How should He think upon me 
when He has all the stars to count? How should He miss 55 
me from the fold when He is shepherding all the heavenly 
hosts ? Thus for some the greatness of God has been made 
to spell the loneliness of man. That is the shivering logic 
of an intellectual conception of the Deity. The psalmist who 
spoke of star counting and heart healing in the same breath 60 
had got beyond that. The deep, persistent needs of his life 
had brought him there. It was not by a mere chance that 
he chose to speak of heartbreak when he sought to link earth 
with heaven and to lift the fretful mind of man up to the 
thought of God’s eternal presence and power. Heartbreak 65 
is not an idea, it is an experience. Yes, and it is an experience 


i 74 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


that only the stars can explain and only divinity can account 
for. It is only in these words, linking stars and hearts 
together, that we can find a noble and satisfying interpreta- 
70 tion of pain. Why do we suffer? We suffer not because 
we are akin to earth, but because we are akin to heaven. The 
final secret of life’s pain lies in life’s high and eternal relation¬ 
ship. We have a present kinship with the stars and with 
all they stand for. They stand for the things above us and 
75 beyond us, whereof the possibilities and the beginnings are 
within us. We cannot help wanting to reach them, for the 
true life of our heart comes from beyond them. It is a 
greater thing than we have counted it to be. Its native air 
is blown from beyond the stars. It is up there above the 
80 starlight that you must find the explanation of the stricken 
conscience of the sinner and the yearning heart of the saint. 
Heartbreak is not to be regarded as a rare and tragic episode 
in the human story. This world only knows sorrow as an 
incident. It is, for it, a cloud upon the sun, sometimes 
85 darkening all the after day. It is a voice of weeping or a 
choked silence in the shadowy dusk of the river’s edge. But, 
my friends, the last true sorrow of life is not on this wise. It 
is not dealt out to one here and another there as a bitter 
judgment or a wholesome discipline. It is inwoven into 
go life. To miss it is to miss life. It is the price of the best. 
It is the law of the highest. When after what we sometimes 
call the long farewell you have seen a sorrow-stricken man 
bearing a bleeding heart out to the verge of the world, beyond 
the last outpost of earthly sympathy and beyond the kindly 
95 kingdom of human help, you have seen something for which 
earth has no healing—but you have not learned anything 
approaching the whole truth concerning heartbreak. There 
is the broken and the contrite heart, the heart that is seek¬ 
ing sainthood, and fainting and failing and aching in the 
100 quest. There is the broken and the yearning heart, that 
strains and throbs with lofty longings and the burden of the 


AINSWORTH: “STAR COUNTING 


175 


valley of vision. And to find healing for such sorrow a 
man must find God. And he must be the God who counts 
the stars. “He telleth the number of the stars.” That is a 
grand, breathless thought, but it is not too grand. No 105 
thought of God narrower and lower than that can ever truly 
comfort us. Only the Infinite can heal the soul. God could 
not minister to strained hearts if the stars were too much 
for Him. The mystery of the stars and the mystery of 
human pain are parts of one great mystery that is no mystery no 
to God, for He dwells beyond it in the light of perfect knowl¬ 
edge, and penetrates it wholly with the warmth of perfect 
love. And that is the vision that the human heart will 
always need. And that is the vision that is fading from some 
men’s minds to-day. Modern theology—at any rate a cer- 115 
tain large school of it—is in danger of belittling the greatness 
of God in its attempts to show His nearness. The imma¬ 
nence of God is a very precious and a very glorious truth, but 
I think some are in danger of forgetting just now that this 
truth owes all that is vital and efficient in it to God’s tran- 120 
scendence. There was a time when the preacher used to 
give out for his text, “Behold, the nations are counted as the 
small dust of the balance: behold, He taketh up the isles 
as a very little thing.” He preached the glory and the 
wisdom and the power of God until men saw the universe as 125 
but one ray of all that glory, one word of all that wisdom, 
one deed of all that power. And with that tremendous 
background he preached the effectual comfort of the ever¬ 
lasting Father. Some are getting afraid of that background. 

And we need to remind ourselves that the human heart 130 
needs it and demands it, and will never be truly satisfied with 
anything else. There is nothing else large enough for you 
to write upon it the meanings and the sanctions and the pur¬ 
poses of God’s healing mercy. But to look at it from man’s 
side, the gospel that is to bring availing and abiding comfort 135 
to a world like ours needs a tremendous background: it 


176 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


needs a transcendent sweep. If you have a doctrine of the 
divine immanence that veils the stars—that seems to make 
the truth of God a more familiar and compassable thing— 
140 that silences the challenge of God’s lonely sovereignty and 
His transcendent and mysterious glory, you have not got 
the doctrine that will meet your deepest needs or win a 
response from the depths of other hearts. This shame- 
stricken, yearning world needs the glory of God as much as 
145 it needs His mercy. Jesus came to reveal both. “The 
Word was made flesh and dwelt among us (and we beheld 
His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, 
full of grace and truth.” We can go back into the ages before 
Christ came, and learn from the psalmist how to apprehend 
150 and deliver the gospel of God’s saving grace—how to inter¬ 
pret and apply God’s final and complete message of healing, 
sent forth into the broken heart of the world. “He telleth 
the number of the stars. He healeth the broken in heart.” 
The singer of that song finked the healing of man’s broken 
155 heart with a profound and transcendent conception of 
God. And the healing of man’s broken heart to-day is to 
be finked with a profound (not intellectually, but morally 
profound) and transcendent conception of Jesus Christ. 
Christian people need to be on their guard to-day lest the 
160 naturalistic atmosphere that we cannot help breathing (even 
if sometimes it nearly chokes us by its lack of oxygen) should 
lead us unconsciously to place a too humanitarian emphasis 
on the gospel of the divine Saviour. You may remind men 
that Jesus drew lessons for fife from the lilies and the birds; 
165 how that He was glad to watch the patient oxen drawing the 
simple plow through the brown earth (just such a plow as He 
Himself had fashioned many a time in the carpenter’s shop 
at Nazareth); how, maybe, He loved the smell of the fresh- 
turned furrow and the swing of the sower’s arm as he scattered 
170 the seed; how He smiled on the little children and talked 
with the tanned and bearded fishermen on the shores of 


AINSWORTH: “STAR COUNTING” 177 

Tiberias. But do not think that this is the story that brings 
Christ nearest to the heart of the world. We sing: 

Be with me when no other friend 
The mystery of my heart can share; 175 

And be Thou known when fears transcend, 

By Thy best name of Comforter. 

In our weakest and loneliest hours, in the most inward and 
essential necessities of our lives, it is the mastery and the 
mystery of the eternity of Christ that we need. 180 

O to have watched Thee through the vineyards wander, 

Pluck the ripe ears and into evening roam; 

Followed, and known that in the twilight yonder, 

Legions of angels shone about Thy home. 

How tremendously true are these words of the poet to the 185 
heart’s real need and experience. This troubled world does 
not find peace at the feet of the gracious and inspired and 
morally perfect Prophet of Nazareth uttering words of wisdom 
amid the vineyards and in the path through the cornfields. 

In its profound spiritual sorrow and need, led by the instincts 190 
of a broken heart, it has followed the Christ home through 
the twilight of His humanity on into the glory of His divine 
Sonship and the light of His eternal dwelling-place. It is 
to the kingliest and profoundest and most transcendent words 
of Jesus that the human heart clings. Go to that devout 195 
man who lost his dearest friend but yesterday, and ask him 
what Scripture he read ere he went out this morning into a 
lonely world. But there! you need not ask him. You know 
what it was. “In My Father’s house are many mansions. 

I go to prepare a place for you.” Or go to that man whose 200 
heart is aching under the strain of terrible temptation, and ask 
him what word of the Nazarene is sheltering his soul, and 
maybe he will say unto you: “My sheep hear My voice, and 
I know them, and they follow Me. And I give unto them 
eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any 205 


178 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


man pluck them out of My hand. My Father, which gave 
them unto Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to 
pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and My Father are 
one.” My friends, let us not think that by emphasizing the 
210 godhead of Christ we make him less real or less near to 
the hearts of the children of men. It is the godhead of 
Christ that keeps Him near us. It is the mystery of Christ 
that heals us. 

Do not think those are foolish words, or that I am strain- 
215 ing after a paradox. It is a matter of common knowledge 
that the central truth of the gospel—even the sacrifice of 
Christ for the sins of the whole world—has been the focal 
point of the mightiest thought-conflict of all history. That 
conflict has not subsided. The thought of the Christian 
220 Church has not yet met in one common theory of the atone¬ 
ment. And you are well aware that the leaders in this 
fight have often been men of saintly lives, who have not 
failed to find perfect satisfaction and peace and hope at the 
cross of the world’s Saviour. And if there is one paramount 
225 lesson to be learned from this battle, where many theories 
claim the right to account for one experience, it is this, that 
the Saviour has to pass our highest comprehension in order 
to meet our deep need. “He telleth the number of the stars. 
.... He healeth the broken in heart.” Do not be afraid 
230 to put these two facts side by side. Do not be afraid to 
carry too divine and mysterious and ineffable a gospel to a 
suffering world. For it is to just such a gospel that the human 
heart will respond. That new school of theology to which 
I have already made reference has tried, in the interests of 
235 what it hoped would be nearer and clearer teaching, to draw 
a veil across all the mystic starry facts in the gospel story. 
It has said: “Men cannot believe in the incarnation of the 
Son of God. Science has made it impossible for men to 
believe in such a scientifically lawless event.” But ages 
240 before science was born, sin and sorrow and the mysterious 


AINSWORTH: “STAR COUNTING 


179 


fathomless needs of the human soul had made it impossible 
for men to believe in anything less stupendous and divine. 

It has said: “It is no good preaching a gospel of miracle in 
a clear thinking age like this.” And it has given the world 
a Christ that few can understand and no one can trust. It 245 
has underrated human need. It has compassed the heart¬ 
broken with a thievish and impotent philosophy. It has 
overlooked the fact that a thing may be to a man at once and 
consciously an intellectual difficulty and a spiritual necessity. 

My friends, the Christian creed is not a great intellectual 250 
production: it is the voice of the Christian experience try¬ 
ing to utter the unutterable. It is the outcome not of what 
men have thought, but of what they have felt. It is full of 
that which baffles the mind of the dialectician and builds 
the life of the saint. And when men have spun their last 255 
specious and compassable theory of religion and of life, the 
weary and heartbroken children of men will be found break¬ 
ing through the meshes of argument, sweeping away the 
human glosses from divine truth, and casting themselves in¬ 
stinctively upon that mystery of mercy and might that is as 260 
the mystery of the stars. Yes, and finding at the hands of the 
God who counts the stars, the touch of healing and the clasp 
of love. 


i8o 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


GENERAL NOTES 

I. Impression.—An exceedingly simple and beautiful 
sermon. One central truth is plainly stated; man in 
his weakness and suffering needs a sovereign God and a 
divine Christ. This truth is affirmed and presented with 
no effort after elegance of diction or oratory. The 
sermon is entirely different from the work of the other 
preachers whom we have studied; yet is none the less 
a sermon. 

II. Analysis.—The analysis is elusive. The two 
divisions might be marked at page 176, line 145, and the 
conclusion may begin at page 178, line 214. If there is 
a plan it does not appear in any way. Yet in spite of the 
lack of suggestions for the analysis, we feel the structure 
of the sermon. There are no paragraph divisions. No 
formal announcements of subject or proposition are made. 

X. Material.—Ainsworth has brooded on the text; 
he has experienced life with his people; he is sure of the 
needs of his own soul. Out of this great reservoir he 
draws the material for his sermon. There is no hint 
at great learning. This is a sermon drawn from life 
and designed to meet the needs of living men. 


PART II 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 









METHODS OF WORK 


As the result of the Sermon Studies carried out accord¬ 
ing to the directions contained in the Work Sheet, we 
have at hand eight reports on each of fifteen subjects. 

Gather these reports in order and proceed to analyze, 
compare, and finally to systematize into definite conclu¬ 
sions and principles the findings contained in them. 
Use the inductive method of research that lies at the 
basis of all work in scientific and literary laboratories. 
The conclusions that the student reaches from his own 
sources and by the use of his own mind are his own find¬ 
ings and are worth vastly more than any counsels that 
he may receive even from the greatest teachers of 
homiletics. The Sermon Studies furnish the raw material 
for original conclusions. The accurate and painstaking 
handling of this material will finally determine the worth 
of the study for the individual student. 

The following chapters are based on the Sermon 
Studies; but they are not meant to be either exhaustive 
or final. Every student who does faithful work in the 
Sermon Studies will not only correct and amplify the 
material in the following chapters but add new principles 
of his own. Remember the threefold task of scholarship: 
to know what is to be known on the subject, to correct 
old errors, to discover new truth. 


CHAPTER I 
THE SERMON 

The first impression gained from the Sermon Studies 
is that preaching issues in a wide variety of product. 
The differences between the eight sermons are amazing. 
There is the short, gemlike work of Ainsworth and the 
long, elaborate discussion of Spurgeon; the classical 
work of Bushnell and the broad, free treatment of 
Beecher; the similarity of Robertson and Brooks; the 
delicately shaded repetitions of Chalmers and the 
doctrinal intensity of Newman. There can be but one 
conclusion: There is room in the Christian pulpit for 
the widest possible range of mind and method. No 
one type of preaching holds the field to the exclusion of 
all others. Variation is desirable. No preacher should 
ever copy another. Each must work out his own method 
and be true to his own genius and power to accomplish 
results. One form of preaching may win where another 
fails. The congregation as well as the preacher deter¬ 
mines the sermon. Preaching is a delightful vocation 
because the range of freedom is so great. Take courage, 
and above all be yourself! 

The second impression gained from our Sermon 
Studies is that we are dealing here with a particular 
literary form. It is unlike an oration, lecture, essay, 
or a chapter from a continued treatise or narrative. 

A sermon is an oral message, incorporated into an 
order of worship, on a religious truth, directed to the 
popular mind with a view to a decision of the hearers 


THE SERMON 185 

which shall lead them into the Christian experience, 
individually and socially. 

The preacher is a messenger of good news; he is not 
a debater or teacher. 1 His sermon must bear the marks 
of deep conviction and moving urgency. The sermon is 
an integral part of an order of worship. This may be 
exceedingly simple; it may be elaborate; but it is 
essential as the setting of the sermon. A congregation 
is required for the sermon; this will be made up of all 
sorts of people; therefore the sermon should be prepared 
to meet the popular level of thought and feeling and lift 
it to noble decisions. The truth contained in the 
sermon should have the sanction of the Bible. The 
widest range of themes is warranted, but they should 
come from the field of religious truth. The sermon must 
be Christian. The sermon is directed to the whole 
personality: mind, emotion, and will. It seeks to 
convince the hearer, to move him to lofty feelings, and 
then to secure a decision for the truth that the sermon 
has brought to him. The aim of the preacher is like 
that of the lawyer, to secure a favorable verdict. The 
objective of the sermon, therefore, is to bring Christ 
to men and men to Christ in an experience that shall 
embrace the entire range of human relations. Every 
sermon seeks to actualize the ideal of the Lord’s Prayer, 
“ Thy kingdom come , thy will be done on earth as it is 
in heaven ” 2 

x “The preacher should preach that only which bums in his own 
heart. Every sermon should be a message. The other thing may be 
oratory, lecturing, dramatics, but it is not preaching.”— Tilroe, Sent 
Forth , p. 42. 

2 The best-known definition of the sermon is that given by Professor 
Austin Phelps: “The sermon is an oral address to the popular mind, 


i86 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


Criticize the definitions given above. Write one of 
your own. Then test the last three sermons that you 
have preached according to this definition. 

The sermon and other literary forms.—In order to 
make the character of the sermon more vivid in our 
thinking it is worth while to compare it with its most 
closely related literary forms, the oration, the lecture , * 1 
and the essay. In certain details the sermon shares the 
characteristics of all three; but it is marked off clearly 
from them by certain distinctions and there ought never 
to be any confusion as to their identity. The preacher 
is not merely the orator, lecturer, or essayist; the sermon 
is a literary and oratorical product by itself. The distinc- 

on religious truth contained in the Scriptures, and elaborately treated 
with a view to persuasion.” 

We have added the items of public worship and the objective of 
preaching in the realization of Christian experience, and have omitted 
the item concerning elaborate treatment. It will be noted also that we 
have not confined the truth in the sermon exclusively to that which is 
contained in the Bible. This is not intended to minimize or disparage 
biblical preaching. There are subjects, however, on which the modem 
preacher is bound to speak, which are not contained, except by inference, 
in the Bible; for example, many aspects of modem industrial life, 
democracy, prohibition, and ethical problems that arise in the complex 
civilization of today. Our definition is proposed, in comparison with 
that of Phelps, for the purpose of discussion rather than as a final state¬ 
ment; and this item should be subjected to critical examination by the 
student before it is accepted. 

1 “The ‘lecture’ in the pulpit is properly directed to conveying 
information and deepening knowledge. The sermon, however, aims at 
something more. Through the channel of the intellect the hearer is to 
be persuaded and convinced, to the end that motives become purified, 
the emotions exalted, the conscience quickened, and the will consecrated. 
To the factors that are educational the sermon must add the elements 
that are inspirational.”— Berkowitz, Intimate Glimpses of the Rabbi's 
Career , Cincinnati, 1921, p. 85. 



THE SERMON 187 

tions may be most quickly shown by the chart shown 
on the next page. 

After careful study of this chart, state what the 
preacher may learn from the orator, the lecturer, and 
the essayist. 

In what respect is the preacher in danger of confusing 
his work with that of the three workmen just mentioned 
and how is he to avoid the danger in each case? 

Parts of the sermon.—The Sermon Studies reveal 
a general uniformity of parts. 

Title .—This is necessary for the purpose of placing 
the sermon in a catalogue or naming it for identification. 
It may or may not be the same as the subject. 

Text .—This is the passage of Scripture that contains 
or suggests the truth that is presented in the sermon. 
It may also indicate the development of the thought 
or the plan of the sermon. 

Subject .—This is the general statement of that 
which the sermon is about, made specific enough so that 
it may be presented within the time and space allowed 
for a single discourse. For example, “Hope” would be a 
subject; but it is altogether too vast for discussion at 
one service of Christian worship. For the purpose of 
preaching, some aspect of it must be chosen, for example, 
“The Sources of Christian Hope.” This may also be 
called the theme. 

Proposition .—This is the shortest possible statement 
of the subject in the form of a declarative sentence. 
The proposition must be a complete sentence. For 
example, “The sources of Christian hope lie in the Bible, 
in the testimony of the Christian people, and in our 
present personal experience under the leadership of 


188 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


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THE SERMON 


189 

Christ.” Such a proposition may also indicate the 
course of the discussion. 

Discussion or development .—This is often called 
the “body” of the sermon. It is the principal part of the 
discourse and its preparation is the chief work of the 
preacher. The truth suggested by the text, phrased 
in the subject and explicitly stated in the proposition, is 
to be developed and presented in such a way that it 
will convince the mind, move the feelings, and sway 
the will of the congregation. 

The discussion must move steadily forward. The 
steps by which the discussion proceeds are called the 
“points” of the sermon or the “heads” of the discourse. 
It was formerly the custom to develop a proposition at 
great length; often there were as many as seventeen or 
even twenty heads; now the sermon is generally shorter 
and the heads are from three to five. 

Conclusion .—In the majority of thoroughly prepared 
sermons there is a definite conclusion, in which the truth 
which has been discussed is brought to bear upon the 
congregation in the effort to make it finally convincing 
and to secure a decision in its favor. 

We shall treat these factors in the sermon more fully 
in the succeeding studies. 

Contents and form in the sermon.—It is clear that 
we must consider the sermon in reference to its material 
and its form; what the preacher says and how he says it. 1 

1 See Brander Matthews, The Art of Versification, p. 3: “Every work 
of art can be considered from two points of view. It has its content and 
it has its form. We may prefer to pay attention to what the artist has 
to say, or we may examine rather how he says it. The content of his 
work, what he has to say to us, is the"more important, of course, but this 
may depend on his native gift, on his endowment; and it is more or less 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


190 

This leads to an old distinction in the study of preaching. 
It may be devoted primarily to the material in the 
sermon; or it may be concerned with the literary form. 
In the former case it is called Material Homiletics; 
in the latter, Formal Homiletics. 

Which factor are you inclined to neglect, the gathering 
of material for the sermon or its careful preparation? 

Do you think that Professor Matthews is right in his 
claim that mastery of the forms of expression may be 
had as a result of hard work? Is not technical dexterity 
also a gift and the mastery of content or material also 
the result of hard work? 

If either factor is to be slighted, which may be the 
more desirable, to have little to say and say it well, or 
to have much to say and express it poorly? 

beyond his control. He utters what he must utter; and he voices what 
he is inspired to deliver. But the form in which he clothes his message, 
how he says what he has to say—this is what he may choose to make it, 
no more and no less. This depends on him and on him alone; it is not 
a gift but an acquisition; it is the result of his skill, of the trouble he is 
willing to take, of his artistic integrity, of his desire to do his best always, 
and never to quit his work until he has made it as perfect as he can. 

“This technical dexterity can be had for the asking;—or, at least, 
it can be bought with a price. It is the reward of intense interest, of 
incessant curiosity, of honest labor. And it is worth all that it costs, 
since we cannot really separate form from content, as we sometimes 
vainly imagine.” 



CHAPTER II 


THE TEXT 

Theory and definition.—Christian preaching grew 
out of, but also modified, the custom of the synagogue. 
The first followers of Jesus used a simple exposition of 
Scripture, the homily , where the text was “woven into” 
the discourse, as the literal meaning (Latin textus from 
texo , “to weave”) implies. So the Latin fathers made a 
distinction between the textus sacer (sacred text) and the 
homily or exposition of it. Finally the conception of the 
Bible as the one source of truth for faith and life, 
especially after the Reformation, fixed the custom of 
either deriving all sermon subjects from the Bible or 
else finding in the Bible warrant for them. 1 

The text of the sermon is that portion of Scripture 
that suggests or sanctions the subject, and may also 
furnish the plan. 

Freedom in the use of texts.—The Sermon Studies 
show the uniform use of a text but also reveal a 
wide range in their choice and use. Robertson handles 
his text accurately and his plan follows it, reversing 
the items. Bushnell shows how a text may be inter¬ 
preted with a wealth of new meaning by the use of 
scholarship and imagination. Beecher uses a double 
text with discrimination. Chalmers might have made a 

1 The importance of the text may be inferred from the fact that 
Phelps, The Theory of Preaching (a classic in Homiletics) devotes 94 
out of 588 pages, or over 16 per cent of the whole, to this item. The 
modern emphasis would not be so strong. 

191 


192 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


better choice. Spurgeon comes close to mutilation of 
his text. Newman plainly employs his as a proof-text. 
Ainsworth’s is beautiful and noble. Brooks uses the 
figure of the text as the illuminating figure of his sermon. 

In spite of this freedom, however, these eight preach¬ 
ers are masters in the use of texts. They do not use any 
that are trivial or weak. They honor their texts by 
treating them honestly. Robertson and Spurgeon drive 
their texts home and imprint them on the memory by 
frequent repetition. 

Danger in the use of texts.—The preacher demands 
large liberty and wide range in his work. If he is 
confined to the uniform use of a text he may be cramped 
or crippled. 1 The uniform use of a text separates the 
sermon still farther from other forms of public address. 
Texts themselves tend to become lifeless when they are 
separated from the experience out of which they grew. 2 
Their uniform use may intensify a dogmatic spirit in 
the preacher. 

Warrants for the use of texts.—In spite of these 
dangers it is best to use a text for the following reasons. 

1 For example, how can the Bible be expected to furnish adequate 
texts out of the simple experience of the Jewish people and the early 
Christians for problems arising from democracy, the industrial revolution, 
an age dominated by the scientific spirit, and the complex and baffling 
problems that come with the development of Western civilization? 
Or, do the prophets and Jesus furnish all that is required to meet 
even this situation ? See a similar suggestion for discussion on page 186, 
note. 

a “Such glowing experiences as these are hard to communicate; 
they, too, soon harden down and we inherit, as cold and rigid form, what 
was to begin with the flaming outcome of experience.”— Atkins, Modern 
Religious Cults and Movements, p. 26. 


THE TEXT 


193 


It is not foreign to the practice of the great orators. 
Phelps shows that the text may serve a similar purpose 
to that which Webster carried out, when, in his reply 
to Hayne, he began by saying, “Mr. President, I call 
for the reading of the resolution before the Senate.” 
This not only brought the attention of his hearers to a 
focus but gave an effective answer to all that had been 
foreign to the question in the preceding harangue. 
The Bible never becomes antiquated. It is familiar 
to the congregation, although growing less so. The 
language of the Authorized Version is dignified and noble. 
The text introduces the subject quickly and creates a 
presumption in its favor. A unified text aids in the 
quick preparation of a unified plan. All Christian truth 
finds its finest expression in the Bible. 

Must every sermon have a text?—No. Occasionally 
it is safe practice to take a text outside the Bible. 1 
That which makes a sermon Christian is not the fact 
that it is furnished with a text, but the spirit of the 
preacher and the content of the message. Great 
sentences from the Te Deum Laudamus , the Apostle’s 
Creed, hymns of the faith, noble utterances of Christians, 
may occasionally be taken. For example, Newman’s 
reference (p. 156, 11 . 78-80); or Carey’s superb sentence, 
“ Attempt great things for God; expect great things from 
God .” John Clifford has a sermon with a text from the 
Apostle’s Creed, “I believe in the forgiveness of sins” 
( World’s Great Sermons , Vol. VIII, p. 123). J. Morgan 

1 Christlieb dissents positively. He says: “Church formularies, 
hymns or sayings are not suitable for independent texts of sermons, but 
are to be made serviceable in their expansion, and brought occasionally 
into the light of the text "—Homiletic, 1897, p. 151. 


194 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


Gibbon preached a notable sermon from the words 
“Our Lord Jesus Christ,” which gave him this plan: 

I. Jesus of Nazareth 

II. Jesus is the Christ 

III. Jesus Christ is our Saviour and Lord 1 

Such variations give interest to preaching; but they 
are to be used sparingly. 

Principles governing the choice of texts.—In addition 
to those already noted, observe the following: 

1. Avoid being influenced by the mere temporary 
interests of either the preacher or groups in the congrega¬ 
tion to such an extent that the permanent needs of the 
whole parish are overlooked. The last book read or 
the particular interest of the moment must not be the 
supreme influence in the choice of texts and subjects. 
On the other hand, a definite recognition of the interests 
of the preacher and congregation is legitimate in the 
selection of texts. “Fads” must be avoided and real 
interests conserved by a discriminating preacher. 

2. Let the text “find” you as well as finding the text. 
The primary question is not what you will do with the 
text, but what the text will do with you. John Watson 
said, “It is not the man who selects the text. It is the 
text which selects the man.” 2 

3. Avoid any text whose authenticity is questionable 3 
(e.g., John 7:53—8:11; Matt. 16:13; I John 5:7); 

1 The Veil and the Vision, p. 3. 

2 Quoted in Breed, Preparing to Preach , p. 27. 

3 An interesting use of an unauthentic text may be found in Norwood, 
Moods of the Soul, p. 30, in which the preacher states at considerable 
length that I John 5:7 does not appear in the best translations, is appar¬ 
ently a gloss, but is used nevertheless “because it sums up in one sentence 


THE TEXT 


195 


or inaccurate in the translation of the Authorized 
Version (e.g., Prov. 8:15, where the word early should be 
diligently , thus making the text inapt concerning early 
piety; Phil. 1:27, where conversation should be manner 
of living , thus spoiling an otherwise perfectly good 
sermon on “The Vice of Gossip”). 

4. Choose the great, edifying texts, as Brooks 
unfailingly did. There is no danger that the supreme 
texts of the Bible will be overworn. John 3:16; 14:1; 
Ps. 91:1; Isa. 40:30, 31, cannot be hackneyed. They 
still evoke the strongest thought and the best work that 
a modern minister can give to them. 

5. Choose interesting texts, the development of 
whose essential meaning may involve the factor of 
surprise. Isa. 45:5, “I girded thee, though thou hast 
not known me,” was the text from which Bushnell 
developed his famous sermon entitled “Every Man’s 
Life a Plan of God.” Often an apparent obscurity in 
a text may be cleared up by a swift paragraph of explana¬ 
tion, which will create interest in the subject and stimu¬ 
late both preacher and congregation. 

6. Choose complete sentences and do not mutilate 
them. 

7. If multiple texts are chosen, take great care in 
making them actually complementary. R. J. Campbell 
is expert in their use. In City Temple Sermons , ten 
out of twenty-three sermons have multiple texts (e.g., 
Isa. 43:2, “When thou passest through the waters I will 


as it were, the expression of the three modes in which God manifests 
Himself to men.” This is the use of a text with no reliance upon any 
especial authority inhering in it by virtue of its place in the authentic 
Scriptures of the Christian people. 



196 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


be with thee”; John 16:20, “Your sorrow shall be 
turned into joy.” Subject: “The Mystery of Pain.” A 
second instance is: Job 14:14, “If a man die, shall he 
live again?” John 14:19, “Because I live, ye shall live 
also.” Subject: “Personal Immortality”). 

Interpretation of texts.—The first principle to be pre¬ 
served is fidelity to the writer's meaning. The preacher 
must get the true meaning out of the text and never 
read a foreign meaning into it. When a text has been 
chosen, if it cannot be interpreted in the original language, 
analyze and parse the English sentence. Many a 
sermon would be saved and sanctified if it were only 
subjected to the rigor of English grammar. Use the 
dictionary until every word is understood; pay especial 
attention to the conjunctions and prepositions (perhaps 
the most important word in Rom. 12:1 is “therefore”). 
Prepositions are small words; but they express the 
relations of parts of the sentence and are of great moment 
in determining the meaning. 

The second principle is selection of the essential truth 
in the passage. Nearly every text contains several 
factors; but there is always one of central significance. 
This is the truth to be developed and discussed in the 
sermon. If those factors which are accidental crowd 
into the discourse the highest value of the text is dissi¬ 
pated. 

The third principle is freedom. That is, the text is 
the preacher's servant and he is not its slave. The purpose 
of the text is to release a central and vital truth, and offer 
a free path for its development. As a preacher gains 
experience, he masters the ability to make his text an in¬ 
spiration and incentive to keen and constructive thought. 


THE TEXT 


197 


Perversion of texts.—There are many ways in which 
a text may be mishandled. One is to neglect it after 
announcement, making it a mere motto, pretext, or 
point of departure. If a text is chosen at all it ought 
to be carried on through the sermon. An essay is not 
made into a sermon by putting a text at its beginning. 
Texts are most honored by being consistently and 
honestly treated throughout the discourse. 

Another frequent cause of perversion is by the neglect 
of context; e.g., Col. 2:21, “Touch not, taste not, 
handle not,” has often been used as a text sanctioning 
abstinence from physical indulgence, without regard to 
Paul’s statement that such ordinances are of no value 
when compared with the power that comes from union 
with Christ. 

Still another, and perhaps the most frequent form 
of text perversion, is through allegorizing. In order 
to make this clear we present two treatments of 
Mark 7:33, 34, the healing of the deaf and dumb man 
in Decapolis. The first is by Spurgeon, with the title, 
“The Plan of Salvation for Lost Men.” 

I. Jesus took him aside. 

The soul must be led into loneliness. 

II. Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. 

Sinners must be shown the seat of their trouble. 

III. Jesus spat. 

The gospel is simple and often despised. 

The sinner must receive it humbly. 

IV. Jesus touched his tongue. 

Sense of need grows. 

V. Jesus looked to heaven. 

All hope for sinners is from above. 


198 principles of preaching 

VI. Jesus sighed. 

The suffering of Jesus necessary to healing. 

VII. Be opened. 

The word of grace is with power. 

The second is by Alexander Maclaren, with the title, 
“The Pattern of Service. ,, 

I. The heavenward look. 

II. The sigh of compassion. 

III. The touch of pity. 

IV. The word of power. 

The following discriminating counsel may well be 
used in summing up this point. 

For instance if, as the preacher reads the words, “He 
shall show you an upper room furnished,” 1 it strikes him with 
a flash that Christ’s Gospel not only lights up the ideal world 
over him, but stocks it with the content of positive truth for 
our spiritual dwelling and use, by all means let him preach 
a sermon to that effect from the text. But let it be clear 
that he is using some sacred fancy in so doing. And let him 
realize that such a treatment of the Bible is on a very different 
footing from that which he employs if he preach on central 
words like these: “Being justified by faith we have peace 
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 3 

1 Mark 14:15. 

3 Forsyth, Positive Preaching in the Modern Mind , 1907, p. 32. The 
question will inevitably arise, however, and ought to be discussed at this 
point: Why, if it is a sacred fancy, not preach on it as such, without 
reference to or use of the text at all? How is a sermon on a sacred 
fancy given any peculiar weight or sanction because it is provided with 
the text that suggested the fancy ? This involves the discussion of the 
whole matter of the “accommodation” of texts. 


CHAPTER III 


THE TITLE AND SUBJECT 

The sermon title.—Every sermon must be provided 
with a title. This is necessary in order that it may be 
announced and catalogued for preservation. Our 
Sermon Studies show that in every case, excepting, 
possibly, Ainsworth, the title is the same as the subject. 
More variety might have been brought into the treatment 
of the sermon, however, if there had been a change in 
the phrasing of the title and subject. “Star Counting 
and Heart Healing” is an interesting title; the subject 
might have been “Divine Sources of Human Comfort.” 
“The Light of the World” conveys no uncertain meaning 
if it is clearly understood to be a sermon title; the subject, 
however, might have been “Human Values Revealed by 
the Light of Christ.” 

Importance of the title.—Book publishers recognize 
the great value of titles; the success or failure of a book 
is often determined by the title chosen. So the attrac- 
tiveness of a sermon is conditioned largely upon the 
choice of the title. On the one hand, we see a tendency 
to choose vivid and sensational titles, which will not 
merely arrest attention but startle the community; this 
is a part of the general promotion program of church work 
which employs such terms as “to sell” religion and the 
gospel. On the other hand, preachers are often careless 
of the significance of the title in its appeal to the interest 
of audiences. It is a rare gift that enables a preacher 


199 


200 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


to select such titles as will be vital, interesting, timely, 
and also conform to the laws of good taste and dignity. 
With careful thought and continued practice a preacher 
ought to become resourceful and accurate in the phrasing 
of sermon titles; certainly this involves one’s best 
possible thought and practice. 

The principles on which titles and subjects are to be 
chosen are so nearly identical that we shall proceed to 
consider them together. In the vast majority of sermons 
there is no difference to be observed; the preacher has 
simply given the subject for a title. It would doubtless 
have been better if greater variety had been secured; 
but the same principles obtain in reference to both title 
and subject. 

The sermon subject.—Before studying the material 
from Part I, the meaning of the word “ subject” calls for 
a brief discussion. We use it here as the term most 
clearly indicating what the sermon is about. The 
words “theme” and “topic” are also current. The 
relation between subject and theme is defined by Genung 
in rhetoric and by Hoyt in homiletics as follows: 

The subject is the general or class-idea on which the 
production is based, the most unrestricted answer to the 
question, “What shall I write about?” Thus, for example, 
one may write about Anglo-Saxons, or about Self-Reliance, 
or about Free-Trade, or about Modern Fiction; these are 
subjects. Evidently such subjects as these, as they exist 
unmodified, are too comprehensive, too general for treatment. 
They contain no hint of one kind of treatment more than 
another; no indication of fitness of place, public, or form of 
discourse; no suggestion of limits or direction. It is clear 


THE TITLE AND SUBJECT 201 

that they are not yet in shape to guide the writer as his 
working-idea . 1 

The words “subject” and “theme” are used by many 
interchangeably, but it is a loose use of terms, the result of 
hazy thought and indefinite aim. The subject is general; 
the theme is particular. “Faith” is a subject; “The 
Promptitude of Faith” is a theme. “Faith” is broad and 
general; it makes no affirmation or denial, it suggests no 
limits or purpose. “The Promptitude of Faith” is specific, 
gives definite relations, and has an unmistakable purpose . 3 

Hoyt criticizes Robertson’s sermon on “Worldliness” 
which, he says, is engaged with the actual theme “Why 
the Christian cannot love the world.” 

The force of this distinction is apparent. On the 
other hand one recalls instinctively the familiar essays of 
Emerson, “Love,” “Heroism,” “Intellect,” “Art.” Also, 
keeping company with Robertson, are James Stalker, 
“Temptation” (World’s Great Sermons , IX, 165); 
John Watson, “Optimism” (ibid., p. 199); Beecher, 
“Immortality” (ibid., VI, 1). A close study of these 
sermons shows, however, that the real matter discussed 
is far more closely defined than the general terms would 
indicate. 

The term “topic” is frequently used and is practically 
identical with “theme.” 

We shall employ the word “subject” here in the 
restricted sense of the “theme” or “topic,” recognizing 
the distinctions noted above, but feeling that the current 
usage, “sermon subject,” is generally clear and that to 


1 Genung, Practical Elements of Rhetoric, p. 249. 

2 Hoyt, The Work of Preaching, new edition, 1917, pp. 87-106. 


202 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


substitute the word “ theme” would confuse rather than 
clarify the matter. 

Additional subjects for study.—The eight subjects 
already studied are numbered and printed below, and 
are followed by the subjects in Bushnell, Sermons for 
the New Life. 

1. Obedience the Organ of Spiritual Knowledge 

2. Unconscious Influence 

3. The Light of the World 

4. The Expulsive Power of a New Affection 

5. What Is Christ to Me? 

6. Songs in the Night 

7. Christ, the Son of God Made Man 

8. Star Counting and Heart Healing 

9. Every Man’s Life a Plan of God 

10. The Spirit in Man 

11. The Dignity of Human Nature Shown from Its Ruins 

12. The Hunger of the Soul 

13. The Reason of Faith 

14. Regeneration 

15. The Personal Love and Lead of Christ 

16. Light on the Cloud 

17. The Capacity of Religion Extirpated by Disuse 

18. Obligation a Privilege 

19. Happiness and Joy 

20. The True Problem of Christian Experience 

21. The Lost Purity Restored 

22. Living to God in Small Things 

23. The Power of an Endless Life 

24. Respectable Sin 

25. The Power of God in Self-Sacrifice 

26. Duty Not Measured by Our Own Ability 

27. He That Knows God Will Confess Him 


THE TITLE AND SUBJECT 


203 


28. The Efficiency of the Passive Virtues 

29. Spiritual Dislodgments 

30. Christ as Separate from the World 

A study of these thirty subjects leads to the following 
conclusions: 

1. Wide variety is necessary. The range of preaching 
is exceedingly broad. The subjects pertinent and vital 
to the Christian life are innumerable. This makes 
preaching a fascinating task. 

2. Subjects must be clear. Is 1 obscure? Is 8 too 
indefinite? Is 29 hazy? On the other hand, a certain 
touch of mystery or suggestiveness is desirable. Note 
the allurement in 8; the challenge of 9; the suggestive¬ 
ness of 11. 

3. Subjects should not contain technical terms. Note 
the philosophical term in 1. Does 4 suggest a psycho¬ 
logical problem? Is 28 open to the same criticism? 
Study 11 and 26 and note the theological discussion out 
of which they came. Is it pertinent now? Who cares 
about it? Is the word “extirpated” in 17 undesirable? 

4. Subjects should be attractive to a wide range of 
people and not offensively dogmatic. But study 7, 9, 
17, 23, 27, 30. Is there not a positive and even dogmatic 
suggestion here that will attract hearers? Do not 
people want a subject that is affirmative and dogmatic? 
What is the golden mean in this respect? 

5. The subject should plainly indicate what the 
sermon is about, and the preacher must stick to his 
subject consistently. Would you be uncertain about 
6, 8, 29? Which seems to you the clearest subject in 
the group? 


204 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


6. In the light of the distinctions made by Genung 
and Hoyt, criticize 14. 

7. Which of these subjects would attract you most 
if you saw it in a newspaper or bulletin board? Why? 
Which would attract you least? Why? 

8. Grotesque subjects must be avoided. Yet there 
is a real place for the “sensational” subject, that is, the 
subject that produces a real movement in mind or emo¬ 
tions, leading a hearer to give attention to the subject. 
The modern practice of using lurid or “ catchy” subjects 
is not to be commended. Paraphrasing the titles of 
popular plays and slogans is common. “How Hot Is 
Hell ?” may arrest attention; but it is unworthy a digni¬ 
fied and earnest pulpit. 

9. State in other terms the subjects of 17, 22, 27, 7. 

10. In the light of these thirty subjects, what changes 
are necessary in modern preaching? What new subjects 
must be handled today? Name at least five. 


CHAPTER IV 


THE PROPOSITION 

Definition.—The proposition is the statement, in its 
concisest possible form and by a complete sentence, of 
the subject that is to be discussed in the sermon. 

It has been compared to the action of the heart in the 
physical body. Its place in the sermon is vital and 
organic. It must not be omitted or neglected. 

The proposition in sermon preparation.—It is appar¬ 
ent from the Sermon Studies that a proposition does not 
often appear as a formal part of the sermon, definitely 
announced and precisely stated. Such a proposition 
may have been in the preacher’s mind; he may have used 
it in the preparation of his sermon; but it does not appear 
as a distinct rhetorical factor in the sermon as preached. 
Therefore it is apparent that there is a difference between 
the place of the proposition in the preparation and in the 
delivery of the sermon. 

A proposition is not necessary in every sermon as it is 
delivered; but it is absolutely essential in the process of 
sermon preparation; and it would be a source of added 
force and finish if every sermon when delivered contained 
a definite and formal proposition . 1 

The one place where the value of the proposition is 
unquestioned, therefore, is in the preparation of the 

1 By this is meant a regular sermon delivered as part of an order 
of public worship. Funeral discourses, historical and biographical 
addresses, expository sermons, and sermons on occasions do not call for a 
proposition. 


205 


206 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


sermon. As soon as the text, the subject, or both, have 
been defined, the first draft of a proposition should be 
made. Into one declarative sentence, clear and cogent, 
put the truth which you mean to bring out in the sermon. 
The first draft of the proposition will probably contain 
more factors than are needed; it may not place them in 
the most convincing order; but it should contain all that is 
essential to the sermon, no less and no more, and no other 
than the truth in the subject, stated in cumulative order. 
This first draft will probably be changed, perhaps many 
times; but it is the final statement of the truth in the 
sermon. 

Additional propositions for study.—Chalmers alone 
of the eight preachers studied uses a formal proposition. 
For the purpose of further study the following formal 
introductions are given: 

The Catholic Church is triumphing now in America, and 
in Ireland, and in the colonies of the British Empire: aye, 
and in the midst of confusions in Spain, and in France 
through revolution after revolution, and in the furnaces of 
infidelity: aye, and in Germany, in the midst of all that the 
might of man can do against it, and in Italy, too, where the 
head of the Church is morally a prisoner, it is triu m phing 
even now.— Manning, “The Triumph of the Church,” 
World’s Great Sermons , V, 63. 

The petition, therefore, “Thy will be done,” contains 
the doctrine: 

That it is greatly to be desired that God should govern 
the world, and dispose of men, in all respects, entirely 
according to His own pleasure.— Lyman Beecher, “The 
Government of God Desirable,” World’s Great Sermons , 

IV, 3. 


THE PROPOSITION 


207 


In this discourse I wish to show that the character of 
Christ, taken as a whole, is one which could not have entered 
the thoughts of man, could not have been imagined or feigned; 
that it bears every mark of genuineness and truth; that it 
ought therefore to be acknowledged as real and of divine 
origin.— Channing, “The Character of Christ,” World's 
Great Sermons, IV, 29. 

In actual Christianity,—that is, in that portion of 
Christianity which is preached and believed,—there seems to 
have been, ever since the time of its earthly Founder, two 
elements, the one transient, the other permanent. The one 
is the thought, the folly, the uncertain wisdom, the theological 
notions, the impiety of man, the other, the eternal truth 
of God.— Theodore Parker, “The Transient and Permanent 
in Christianity,” World’s Great Sermons, V, 149. 

The truth I propose then for your consideration is this: 
That God has a definite life-plan for every human person, 
girding him, visibly or invisibly, for some exact thing which 
it will be the true significance and glory of his life to have 
accomplished.— Bushnell, “Every Man’s Life a Plan of 
God,” Sermons for the New Life, p. 10. 

My subject is, the spirit in man, or what is the same, 
the fact that we are, as being spirit, permeable and inspirable 
by the Almighty. — Bushnell, “The Spirit in Man,” Sermons 
for the New Life, p. 30. 

In this view I propose a discourse on the reason of faith; 
or to show how it is that we, as intelligent beings, are called 
to believe; and how, as sinners, we can in the nature of things 
be saved only as we believe. — Bushnell, “The Reason of 
Faith,” Sermons for the New Life, p. 88. 

Principles derived from the studies.—(1) The proposi¬ 
tions studied above reveal “one structure, a whole, not a 


208 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


congeries of alien particles.” The first principle of 
construction is unity. All the parts of the proposition 
must have centripetal force, that is, there must be just 
one center of thought. A unified proposition will 
practically insure unity of discussion. Vinet said, “The 
discourse is the proposition unfolded, and the proposition 
is the discourse condensed. ,, 

2. The proposition must be accurate. Every word, 
every phrase, every factor of the sentence or sentences 
must be studied, tested, and fully justify its claim to use 
before it is admitted. Avoid obscure and controversial 
terms. 1 Keep the right emphasis. 

3. The proposition must be clear. The preacher 
lives in a world of his own, with its vocabulary and areas 
of familiar thought. The fact that terms are clear to 
him does not insure their clearness to others. Use the 
strong, simple, current words. Test the proposition by 
the standards and usages of daily life. 

4. The proposition must be interesting. While, 
naturally we do not stress the idea of interest in this 
element of the sermon so much as we do elsewhere, it 
must not be neglected. The proposition must be clear 
and concise; but it gains if it is also immediately appeal¬ 
ing to the interest of the hearers. Therefore, study the 
form in which you put the proposition and see if it 
cannot be changed, in case you fear that it lacks those 
elements which will appeal to the congregation at once 
and enlist their attention and interest. A quaint proposi¬ 
tion of Latimer is of this sort: “Love is the livery of the 
servants of Christ.” 

1 Avoid words ending in tion: differentiation, motivation, etc. 
Also the “language of Zion.” 


THE PROPOSITION 


209 


5. Many propositions are blended into the introduc¬ 
tion. Bushnell, as seen above, was a master in this art. 
The majority of modern sermons use the proposition in 
this way. It adds interest and charm to the discourse, 
and is probably the best method for general use in the 
pulpit. 

6. A clear and forceful proposition aids in securing 
unity and progress in the sermon, two qualities which 
are often neglected. The propositions studied above 
reveal a fine fusion of these. Note the way in which 
Manning swings steadily onward in the marshaling of 
the factors in his proposition; it moves. Note the way 
in which Parker keeps his contrasts vivid and how he 
makes the second factor dominate the first, as it should 
in order to achieve progress. Note the final illustration 
from Bushnell, as it develops the second clause in rela¬ 
tion to the first, and thus insures progress in the 
discussion. 

Therefore true unity calls for orderly and evident 
progress. When these have been incorporated into the 
proposition we have the fullest warrant for confidence 
that they will be maintained in the discussion. Indeed, 
the major problems of sermon development are solved 
in the framing of the proposition. 


CHAPTER V 


THE INTRODUCTION 

Definition and warrant.—The introduction is that 
part of the sermon which leads into the discussion of the 
proposition. 1 It is essential to a complete sermon. 

This purpose makes it clear that the introduction is not 
necessarily all that precedes the discussion of the subject. 
There may often be explanatory or preliminary state¬ 
ments concerning the text, the occasion, or related 
subjects, which are not introductions in the strict 
sense of the word. Yet an introduction may consist of 
an explanatory statement when it actually leads into 
the discussion. 

John Bright considered the introduction to be so 
important that he generally wrote this part of his speeches 
with the greatest care. He felt that if he made the right 
approach he had taken the most important single step 
in presenting his subject. 

An introduction to a sermon is demanded for the 
following reasons. 

i. The human mind always approaches subjects 
gradually. We cannot have truth hurled at us and 
understand it. All great friendships grow out of intro¬ 
ductions of one kind and another. We always lead up 
to important subjects in conversation. All successful 

1 “An introduction is that part of a discourse which is designed to 
prepare an audience for agreement in opinion, and for sympathy in 
feeling, with the preacher on the subject of the discourse.”— Phelps, 
Theory of Preaching , p. 223. 


210 


THE INTRODUCTION 


211 


salesmanship demands that the right approach and point 
of contact be found. 

2. The preacher himself must come to his discussion 
of the subject by a gradual approach and not “head on.” 
It clarifies the truth for the preacher when he approaches 
it step by step. 

3. The introduction is necessary in order to focus 
the attention and sustain the interest of the congregation. 

What a task the preacher faces! All ages and grades 
of appreciation and varieties of temperament are before 
him. During the week the people have been thinking 
of all sorts of subjects and their minds are still occupied 
with them. They come to the morning service under 
the impulse of varying emotions. The service up to the 
time of the sermon is the best preparation for its delivery; 
but the preacher knows also that he has a well-nigh 
impossible task at hand as he seeks to unite all the minds 
of the people in the subject which he is to present. He 
cannot do this, except in rare instances, unless he 
approaches his subject in the right way. 

Additional materials for study.—Of the eight sermons 
which we have studied, seven are provided with introduc¬ 
tions. In order to make the range of study somewhat 
wider, the following four examples are added. 

1. J. H. Jowett, Behind and Before: 

“Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid Thine 
hand upon me.”—Ps. 139:5. 

“Thou has beset me behind.” He deals with the enemy 
in the rear, the foe that lurks in my yesterdays. He does 
not ignore the dark heritage that bears down upon me from 
the past. “And before!” He deals with the enemy in the 
front, the foe that seems to hide in my tomorrows. “And 


212 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


laid Thine hand upon me!” He deals with the immediate 
contingency, and gives me a present consciousness of ample 
defence and security. 1 

2. Percy Ainsworth, The Wilderness and the Sunrise: 

“And they journeyed from Oboth, and pitched at 

Ije-Abarim, in the wilderness which is before Moab, towards 
the sun-rising.”—Num. 21:11. 

Let us get away from the geography of this passage. 
When we have done that the passage reads like this—“They 
journeyed .... in the wilderness .... towards the sun- 
rising!” That is no longer simply the story of an ancient 
nomadic people. It is an epitome of life in God’s hands. It 
is the divinity of existence. It is a parable of providence 
and grace. It would be easy to show how this reading of 
our text is illustrated in the story of Israel. But I propose 
frankly to look at it in the light of Christ. The teaching of 
Jesus is full of the tremulous light of the dawn. It was a 
dawn-gospel that He preached. It was the coming day that 
He heralded. The true Christian theology is ever flushed 
with the sunrise. 2 

3. W. J. Dawson, Christ among the Common Things 
of Life: 

“As soon then as they were come to land they saw a fire 
of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. Jesus saith 
unto them, Come and dine.”—John 21:9, 12. 

I cannot read these words without indulging for a moment 
in a reminiscence. Not long ago, in the early morning, while 
all the world slept, I stood beside the Sea of Tiberias, just as 
the morning mist lifted, and watched a single brown-sailed 
fishing-boat making for the shore, and the tired fishermen 
dragging their net to land. In that moment it seemed to me 

1 Brooks by the Traveller's Way , p. 25. 

2 The Pilgrim Church, p. 244. 


THE INTRODUCTION 


213 


as if more than the morning mist lifted—twenty centuries 
seemed to melt like mist and the last chapter of St. John’s 
gospel seemed to enact itself before my eyes. For so vivid 
was the sense of something familiar in the scene, so mystic 
was the hour, that I scarce would have been surprised had 
I seen a fire of coals burning on the shore, and heard the voice 
of Jesus inviting these tired fishermen to come and dine. 1 

4. Lorenzo Dow. An incident: 

Lorenzo Dow was an old-time and famous mountain 
preacher. The following story describes his novel 
method in making an introduction to a sermon: 

He began by saying, “My text is Philippians four, 
thirteen. ‘I can do all things.’ ” 

Then he produced a bill from his wallet and said, 
“Paul, that’s simply preposterous; I’ll wager this that 
you can’t do anything of the sort.” 

Then he opened his Bible again and read, “I can do 
all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” 

On reading this, he placed the bill again in his wallet, 
saying, “So? I withdraw my offer. Of course you can. 
Anybody can do anything by the help of God.” 

He then proceeded with his subject. 2 

Principles derived from preceding studies.—From 
the eleven examples which we have studied, the following 
principles are drawn. 

1. Introductons must be concise and clear. Any 
obscurity at the beginning is fatal to clearness in the 
subsequent discussion. Chalmers uses a difficult intro* 
duction, not to be commended. Jowett and Ainsworth 
are well-nigh perfect examples of exegetical comment, 

1 World 7 s Great Sermons , X, 81. 

2 D. J. Burrell, The Sermon , p. 114. 


214 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


rather than definite introduction, which leads directly 
into the discussion. Newman adapts his thought to 
the temper of his people. 

2. Introductions should be short. The longest is 
Robertson, 25 per cent of the sermon. Brooks and 
Chalmers use 3.5 per cent; Beecher, 7 per cent; 
Spurgeon, 10 per cent; Newman, 12.5 percent; Bushnell, 
14 per cent. Dawson is brief. 

Younger preachers often prepare the introduction 
at too great length. The entrance to the house is larger 
than the house itself. It takes a long discipline of 
experience to learn how to hold in reserve the resources 
that flow readily to the mind of the preacher. 

Lyman Abbott said: 

As to introductions, generally the less introduction the 
better. The whole service of prayer and praise and Scripture 
reading has been introduction; that is, it has been preparing 
the mind and heart of the congregation for the message of 
the preacher. He who strikes the heart of his subject in the 
first sentence is most likely to secure an attentive listening 
at the outset of his discourse. 1 

3. Introductions must be unified. Robertson is a 
conspicuous example of such unity. Spurgeon is also 
successful. Reject every factor in an introduction that 
may divert the movement of thought straight into the 
discussion. 

4. Dawson shows how a personal touch may be used; 
but only an artistic literary craftsman can do it well, and 
such references should be seldom used. 

5. The quaint device of Dow serves only to show 
that on the rarest occasions some unusual means may 

1 The Christian Ministry, 1905, p. 215. 


THE INTRODUCTION 


215 


be employed to arrest attention and create interest. 
No student ought to be encouraged ever to try it. Here, 
however, is an original suggestion as effective as it is deft: 

This exquisite passage is like a flower which one is almost 
afraid to touch, lest he should spoil the delicate bloom. 
Yet to disturb the flower may awake a fragrance and dis¬ 
tribute it to others. My treatment shall be a gentle shaking 
of the flower, if perchance its inherent fragrance may captivate 
our spiritual senses and allure us to the heart of its gracious 
truth. 1 

6. The first sentence is generally short and interesting, 
although Chalmers starts with a sentence of ninety-nine 
words. Simplicity of style marks the first sentences. 
It is no place for rhetorical effects. A misunderstood 
word at first may seriously impair the whole sermon. 

7. Never apologize in an introduction. To state 
that the time for preparation has been inadequate or that 
the subject is too great for one’s powers is unpardonable. 
Burrell says: “An apology is like the vermiform appen¬ 
dix; if it has any proper function, nobody has yet been 
able clearly to define it.” 2 

Preparing the introduction.—The introduction should 
generally be written last of all rather than first. When 
the body of the sermon has been prepared then only do 
we fully know what we have to introduce. Thus the 
preface of a book is generally written last. 3 

Extreme care should be taken with it, especially 
with the first sentence. Charles Reynolds Brown says: 

In my own practice, while I never use a manuscript in 
preaching, there are five sentences in my sermon which 

1 J. H. Jowett, Brooks by the Traveller's Way, p. 231. 

3 The Sermon, p. 115. 3 Dale, Nine Lectures on Preaching , p. 144. 


2 l6 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


I always write out in advance and know by heart—the 
first one and the last four. I like to begin, if I can, with a 
sentence as good as I know how to make it, so that the first 
ball may be pitched, if possible, right over the plate and at the 
proper level. And I want to have the last four sentences 
definitely in mind so that I may not be left circling around in 
the air, like some helpless crow, flying to and fro above a rail 
fence where the stakes have all been sharpened, seeking in 
vain for a suitable place to light. 1 

The spirit of the introduction.—The temper of the 
preacher will be revealed at no point more clearly than 
in the introduction. The qualities of courtesy and 
good-will ought to be evident here, therefore, beyond 
any question. It is seldom necessary to seek to con¬ 
ciliate a congregation of worshipers, as may easily be 
the case with an audience to whom an orator is speak¬ 
ing. Nevertheless, it is sometimes the case that a 
preacher scolds or is petulant in the beginning of his 
sermon. This is a fault that is never to be tolerated. 
Freedom from flattery on the one hand and fault-finding 
on the other are alike desirable moods in which to write 
a sermon introduction. 

x Brown, The Art of Preaching , p. 113. 


CHAPTER VI 


THE CONCLUSION 

Definition.—The conclusion is that part of the 
discourse in which the discussion is drawn to a close and 
the truth is fitted to life. 

Thus the conclusion gives a new and final turn to the 
development of the proposition. We must be sure, 
therefore, that we have not finished before we conclude. 
This sometimes happens. The conclusion is a part of 
the organic structure of the sermon. It is an established 
law of oratory that the oration shall have a definite and 
positive conclusion; the sermon is under the same regula¬ 
tion. 

The conclusion ought to bear the truth home to the 
minds and hearts and wills of hearers with all the con¬ 
centration and force that the preacher can muster. At 
this point weakness is unpardonable. 

The conclusion gives the supreme opportunity to the 
orator. The rhetorical conclusion makes possible the 
oratorical drive. 

Additional examples for study.—The following are 
examples of formal conclusions, which are given here 
in order to supply added examples to the eight already 
furnished: 

Distracted, weary soul, you are fleeing from the very 
thing you want. Do not seek to fly beyond this sea and sky. 
It is your home; rest in its beauty, enjoy its spacious freedom, 
delight in its wide expanse; you could not be content with 


217 


2 l8 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


any lesser home. Do not beat your wings against the dawn, 
hoping to quench the growing light or to shield your eyes 
from its beams. Mount up with wings as an eagle; dare to 
gaze upon the sun. This is God, your life, your rest, your joy 

“Ah fondest, blindest, weakest, 

I am He whom thou seekest! 

Thou dravest love from thee, who dravest Me.” 1 

And for myself I should covet being the kind of man who 
cannot be happy if he knows that his mode of action, or of 
feeling, is in conflict with that loving kindness and justice 
and fairness which, according to our Bible, and according 
to our blessed Lord, are the basis of this present world-order, 
and indeed the skirts of the garment of God. 2 

Principles derived from the Sermon Studies.—The 
ten examples given furnish material for the following 
general principles: 

1. The uniform dignity and beauty of conclusions 
is apparent. These are the most highly finished part 
of the sermons studied. The worth of this factor 
demands that it shall be given paramount attention. 
The great orators and preachers have so regarded the 
conclusion. 

2. Conclusions must be prepared with the utmost 
attention to their effectiveness in the sermon. It is 
said that Burke re-wrote twenty times the conclusion 
of his defense of Queen Caroline. It is most hazardous 
to trust to the moment for the language of the conclusion. 

1 Orchard, “The Inescapable God,” from Sermons on God , Christ 
and Man , p. 54. 

‘Hutton, “The One Ground of Confidence,” from The Victory over 
Victory , p. 106. 


THE CONCLUSION 


219 


It need not necessarily be memorized; but the language 
as well as the thought must receive most careful prepara¬ 
tion. 

3. Beecher and Chalmers both use a vivid and noble 
figure for the conclusion. This is effective when it is 
well done. There is danger that it may not be strong 
or apt enough; also that it may be done too often. 
Such a concluding figure must be studied with the great¬ 
est care. Be sure that excessive details are not intro¬ 
duced. 

4. The majority of the conclusions drive directly 
at the will and therefore seek for a decision. The 
preacher is an advocate. He wants his truth to effect 
changes in the lives of those who hear him. The final 
decision will depend upon the way in which the mind has 
been convinced and the feelings moved. The whole 
person is the object of influence in the sermon; but 
the will is the point of attack in the conclusion. 

5. It is often effective to introduce a personal element 
into the conclusion; but this must be done with the 
utmost of modesty and reserve. Hutton does this with 
fine taste. 

6. The factor of passion appears at its highest in the 
conclusion. It may be the fervid appeal of the evangelist 
as in Spurgeon; it may be the more restrained but no 
less earnest drive on the will by Newman; but in all 
cases there is the glow of deep feeling and the expression 
of the preacher’s earnestness in its most complete form. 

7. The conclusion is the great point of climax in both 
rhetoric and oratory. The most cogent reasoning and 
the tenderest appeals must issue at last in the conclusion. 
Its style must be energetic and its material vital. In no 


220 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


case should the conclusion introduce new elements, 
aside from those that have been developed in the discus¬ 
sion. 

8. The study of many modern sermons reveals a 
tendency to use a poem as the conclusion. For example, 
in Shannon, The Enchanted Universe , seven out of the 
twelve sermons close with a poem. In the case of a 
preacher whose taste is so accurate and range of knowl¬ 
edge so wide as Dr. Shannon’s this is neither ineffective 
nor monotonous; but it is not wise to use a poem for a 
conclusion more frequently than once in six or seven 
times. Beware of sameness in the use of any particular 
method. 

9. One of the most familar forms of the conclusion 
is a prayer, in which the appeal for decision is cast into 
a brief petition for divine aid in carrying it out. If this 
is not used too frequently and if the form is not stereo¬ 
typed, we have a fine union of prayer and devotion in 
this method. The words, “God grant that we may” do 
thus and so, may become void of meaning, however; and 
uniformity in conclusions is as undesirable as it is in all 
other parts of the sermon. 


CHAPTER VII 
THE PLAN 

It is apparent from the Studies that the sermon should 
have a plan according to which the thought is discussed 
for the purpose of convincing hearers of its validity. 
The plan unfolds the proposition according to the laws 
of right thinking. 

In each sermon except Ainsworth, no difficulty is 
experienced in discovering the plan. It is fully 
announced, as in Spurgeon; indicated, as in Bushnell; 
entirely concealed, as in Ainsworth. But it is there, 
lying back of, and under, the discussion, as the skeleton 
is felt in the case of a painted or sculptured human 
figure. And as the sculptor or painter undergoes a 
long discipline learning anatomy, so the preacher ought 
to discipline himself until he is, first, wholly familiar 
with the bony structure of a severely logical sermon, and 
then, in the second place, exceedingly skilful in so manipu¬ 
lating his framework that it will not be obtrusive. The 
common method of always announcing points and divi¬ 
sions should not become a slavish practice. In the end 
that is the best art that conceals art. 

Another way of stating this fact is to say that the 
plan is like the architect’s blue print which is put into 
the hands of the builder to guide him in construction; 
only, in this case, the architect and builder is the same 
person. The difference between the material as it lies 
in the lumber yard and the finished building depends 
upon the use of a plan. 


221 


222 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


No plan will include all that the preacher knows or 
could say on the subject, but only such an amount of 
material as will issue in the conclusive discussion of the 
proposition. There are sermons of an “ encyclopedia” 
sort, with no proper selection and arrangement of matter: 
these are not well planned. 

The plan may be either mental or written. It is 
possible to have a plan which is not put on paper; but 
this is rarely the case. Sermon plans should be written 
out. The following is an excellent method of procedure 
in preparing the plan. 

1. As soon as the subject is clearly enough defined to 
warrant a statement of it and the first draft of a proposi¬ 
tion, write a rough sketch of the way the thought lies in 
your mind. This is like the outline called a “ cartoon,” 
which an artist makes for a picture. It is a preliminary 
study only. This will serve as a stimulus and guide in 
further search for material, and it will aid in arranging 
such material as it is found in thinking and reading. 

2. Make a first plan when considerable material has 
been gathered and before any detailed preparation of 
the sermon is undertaken. This is apparently the 
“syllabus” of which Robertson speaks (p. 4). 

The method of Robertson finds confirmation in the 
counsel of R. W. Dale, who says: “You should have 
two plans: the first, a plan to guide your own thought 
while accumulating your material; the second, a plan for 
arranging the material when you have accumulated it.” 1 

There are many cases in which the second plan will 
require such essential modification that you will make 
a third and even a fourth. 

1 Nine Lectures on Preaching , pp. 137, 139. 


THE PLAN 


223 


In other words, all plans of sermons must be so 
flexible that they may be modified the moment that the 
developing thought calls for change. No greater mistake 
could be made than to allow the plan to bring you into 
bondage at any point. It is always your servant and 
you must never become its slave. 

It is necessary, therefore, to test the plan frequently. 
Especially after the second draft has been made, it will 
be profitable to submit the plan to the test of the six 
questions proposed by Dale: 

1. Does it contain an adequate amount of positive 
Christian truth ? 

2. Have you recognized the true relations of men to God 
as these are defined in the revelation through Christ ? 

3. Does the sermon satisfy the apostolic conception of 
what preaching ought to be ? 

4. Will it achieve the great ends of the Christian ministry; 
and the specific end that you have in mind in this particular 
sermon ? 

5. Has it left anything unsaid that you as a preacher are 
bound to say ? 

6. Is the spirit of the sermon in harmony with the mind 
of Christ ? x 

Study these items carefully. Do these all seem accu¬ 
rate tests to apply to the plan? Should any be omitted? 
Should other items be added? If so, state them. 

There are two fundamental principles which we find 
illustrated in our studies of plans: 

1 Op. cit., p. 142. It is a fair criticism of these tests that they are 
chiefly concerned with doctrine and almost wholly neglect the rhetorical 
and oratorical standards, which must have some place in the determina¬ 
tion of the plan. It is necessary, therefore, to discuss the tests of Dale 
as suggested above. 


224 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


1. Progress of the discussion. —Bushnell studies his 
introduction carefully; then he marshals three general 
proofs; then he brings forward five miscellaneous proofs, 
which are so arranged that they will reach their 
climax in the statement of personal influence, with Paul 
and Christ as examples; then he makes his applications 
personal and intimate, reaching a climax in the rela¬ 
tions between the preacher and his congregation. Thus 
the movement of the discussion is constant. 

In the case of Brooks and Beecher there is close 
similarity of plan; a brief discussion is followed by 
applications of the truth to various phases of life. In 
each case, however, the discussion shows constant 
progress in the thought. 

The steady march of the thought in Chalmers is not 
lost in the well-managed repetitions that we found 
characteristic of his method. Spurgeon clearly intends 
to select the adverbs which outline his plan according 
to their cumulative meaning: whence? what? and what 
for? Newman’s plan is definitely progressive. 

So it is clear that an effective plan must be one in 
which each point is clearly stated, grows out of the 
point preceding, adds something to it, and prepares 
for the point to follow if there is one. 

Such a test, applied constantly to every plan, would 
bring it to pass that no sermon would be like a pool, 
where the water remains stationary, but would be like 
a river, proceeding in its unhasting and unresting way 
to the attainment of its supreme purpose. 

2. Proportion of parts. —This principle is exceedingly 
important and the plan must meet the exacting test of 
accurate distribution of both time and emphasis. The 


THE PLAN 


225 


following illustrations of the importance of this principle 
come from two preachers whose achievements in preach¬ 
ing lend weight to their words: 

I once heard a sermon from a very able man on the 
hidings of God’s power. These hidings, the preacher said, 
were to be found in history, in providence, and in grace. 
It took the preacher thirty minutes to find them in history, 
ten minutes to find them in providence, and three minutes 
to find them in grace. 1 

A sermon by a profound scholar was once preached in a 
New England church from the text, “Where sin abounded 
grace did much more abound,” and the preacher spent so 
much time showing how sin had abounded, through the 
centuries, and made such an appalling picture of it, that he 
was by no means able, in the few minutes devoted to the 
other phrase, to counteract the impression; so that his 
discourse, without his intending it, exactly contradicted 
his text, and left his hearers with the feeling that though 
grace has somewhat abounded, sin did always and everywhere 
exceedingly superabound. 3 

This is one of the faults apparent in the sermons of 
younger ministers, especially those who do not write 
their sermons. In the ardor of the discussion they give 
so much time to the less important points that they do 
not have the necessary time for those of greater weight. 
Writing the sermon and constant care in the delivery 
if the style is ex tempore are the most useful ways by 
which to avoid the danger. 

Textual and topical plans.—The most general classifi¬ 
cation of plans is textual and topical. In the former the 

1 Tucker, Making and Unmaking of the Preacher , p. 100. 

2 Gladden, The Christian Pastor , 1907, p. 92. 


226 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


development of the proposition follows the course of the 
thought in the text; that is, not only the subject but 
the plan is contained in the text. In the latter, the 
subject is suggested by the text, but the development 
of the discussion is determined by the preacher inde¬ 
pendent of the text. 

Textual preaching is the easier. There is no difficulty 
in finding a plan; it is furnished at once by the text. 
It is reasonable to expect that the thought in the text 
will be most clearly and accurately expressed by the 
writer himself; therefore the textual plan has the weight 
of presumption in its favor. A textual plan is an aid 
to memory, since the memorizing of the text is equivalent 
to the memorizing of the plan. 1 

No better plan, for example, could be made for a 
sermon on II Tim. 4:6-8 than to follow the tenses of 
the verb and make the following divisions: 

I. Present 

A. I am being poured out as a libation 

B. The hour of weighing anchor and unloosing sail 
has come 

II. Past 

A. I have fought the beautiful battle 

B. I have run the race to a finish 

C. I have kept the faith 

III. Future 

A. The crown of righteousness awaits me 

B. The just critic will bestow it 

C. All my comrades who love his appearing will share it 

Topical plans, on the other hand, are more frequently 
used in the modern pulpit. They allow larger freedom 

1 Expository sermons are subject to the same rules as textual, the 
only difference being the length of the passage interpreted. 


THE PLAN 


227 


and give greater range to the preacher’s inventive skill. 
Therefore they are more interesting. There is great 
danger, however, that they may become fanciful or 
illogical. In any case a preacher who is accustomed to 
using topical plans will find his work improved if he 
deliberately changes to the textual method, at least 
for one-fourth of the time. Especially at the beginning 
of his work a preacher would better hold rather steadily 
to the textual plan, working somewhat slowly into topical 
treatment. In short, it is best not to use either method 
exclusively. The method that insures the largest 
freedom and stimulates thought most deeply is the best. 

Topical treatment of II Tim. 4:6-8 is possible; but 
it will test the inventive faculties. Criticize this plan: 

I. The Factor of Struggle in Life 

Like all valiant and victorious souls, Paul was obliged 
to struggle for faith and character. 

II. Aids in the Struggle 

The vision of the faith and the actual worth of the 
victory; the help of others who fight beside us; the 
energy of the living Christ. 

III. The immortal Completion 

The completions of life that are withheld warrant their 
attainment somewhere; God does not mock his children 
by giving them the vision of the perfect and then denying 
them satisfaction. 

Varieties of topical plans are seen in the case of 
Spurgeon, who uses the natural series of questions (the 
adverb method), and Brooks and Beecher, who give a 
brief discussion and follow it with applications (the 
deductive method). 


CHAPTER VIII 


SOURCES OF SERMON MATERIAL 

Range.—The study of the eight sermons reveals such 
a range and wealth of material used in the discussions 
as puts to shame any flippant remark concerning the 
intellectual poverty of the preacher or the charge that 
preaching consists in “ saying such an obvious thing in 
such a solemn way.” It is impossible to study these 
sermons without gaining at the end profound respect for 
the mental resourcefulness and power of the preachers. 
The material from which effective sermons are con¬ 
structed is drawn from every department of human 
thought and life. The preacher lays all the universe 
of truth under tribute. There is nothing of human 
concern that is foreign to him. 

We are humbled and exalted by this survey of the 
sermon materials that these preachers have used. We 
feel the keen sense of joy as we are challenged to think, 
to read, to study as widely as the broad world of truth 
runs. Preaching is great business and no man is justified 
in undertaking it who is fearful of the exacting demands 
that are to be made upon him by his sermons. He is 
bound to be humbled at the same moment in which he is 
exalted. The first thought after the completion of the 
study may be, “This quest is not for me.” These 
preachers were mighty men. The second thought is 
quite different. We feel assured and comforted. These 
men learned how to preach by preaching; their power 


228 


SOURCES OF SERMON MATERIAL 


229 


came gradually. They did not master their material or 
their technique in expression during the first year of their 
ministry. They found their way through their glorious 
world slowly. We dare to try to do the same, each in 
his own way and with the powers that the good God has 
given him. 

The preacher’s own thinking.—It is apparent that 
the large majority of the material used in these sermons 
has been gathered and arranged as the result of the 
preacher’s own courageous and accurate thinking. This 
is felt in every sermon. 

Robertson has pondered the great principle that the 
only way in which to become master of truth is to obey 
and to love. His study of Bacon and Jesus gave him 
this principle; he has thought it all through. His 
illustrations and arguments are convincing because he 
himself is convinced. 

The splendid mental quality of Bushnell appears on 
every page. Here is the great pioneer of “Christian 
Nurture” giving conclusions for which he has wrestled 
as he has thought his problem through with all the 
equipment of his alert and disciplined mind. Bushnell 
is the thinker, unafraid and utterly honest. 

Brooks and Newman are both doctrinal preachers, 
far apart in their conclusions, to be sure; but both found 
their sermons in certain great teachings which they have 
thought through. With Brooks it is the illuminating 
truth of the divine value of human life. “Men are the 
children of God.” He has reasoned this out; he has 
found that it “worked” in his relations with men. He is 
bound to believe it in spite of sin and failure. This 
world belongs to God. It seems easy to affirm and to 


230 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


preach this; but it is not so easy when Brooks makes the 
practical application of his truth. 

Beecher may have decided to preach this particular 
sermon on Sunday morning, thereby setting a horrible 
example to all young preachers who think that this is 
the way to become Beechers; but the study of the 
sermon reveals the fact that he has been thinking for 
weeks and perhaps months on this very discourse. 
His interest in science, in theology, in life, has been 
guiding him to the acquisition of the material that he 
pours out in a torrent when the time comes for him to 
speak. 

Chalmers has thought his psychological problem 
through, years before the modern schools arose to write 
books on the psychology of Christian experience. It is 
a mind of a high order that we see in action in the sermon 
that we study. He holds up his truth like a great 
diamond and lets the light flash from this facet and then 
from another; and the final blaze and splendor of color 
comes from a thinker who goes to the end of his subject. 

Spurgeon is the evangelist. His sermon suffers in 
the matter of length and the order might be improved; 
but he is not simply shouting. He knows life. He has 
thought about it in the light of the doctrines that he 
steadfastly believes. He is Calvinist, biblicist, pre- 
millennarian. He is not a follower of mere blind trails, 
however. We may or may not agree with him; our 
mouths may not be opened very wide to sing the “son¬ 
nets” of election and predestination; but before the rugged 
honesty of Spurgeon’s mind we must stand with respect. 

Newman is also the disciple of authority. Robertson 
put them both into the same class with fine insight 


SOURCES OF SERMON MATERIAL 


231 


(p. 6, 11. 32-38). Newman, however, has thought his 
doctrines through to his own satisfaction, even if he does 
not marshal evidences as those who dissent from him 
might like to have him do. 

The delicate and convincing power of Ainsworth’s 
thinking is one of the most striking impressions of the 
study. At first glance it might seem as if this short 
sermon did not call for any particular force or clarity 
of thought. Test it, however. It is easier to produce 
three minutes of Spurgeon than a minute of Ainsworth. 
There is a fine insight, accurate reasoning, real mental 
grip in Ainsworth. 

This survey, made swiftly, brings us to the conclusion 
that the first source of sermon material is the result of 
the preacher’s own thinking. 1 

The preacher’s essential theology.—The primary 
material in the preacher’s thinking is his conception of 
the Christian gospel or his essential theology. The 
doctrinal basis of the eight sermons appears as soon as 
they are carefully studied; it does not lie on the surface, 

1 The principle that the first source of material for a sermon is 
derived from the preacher’s own thought, quite apart from anything 
that he reads on the subject, is well illustrated by the following from 
Roger W. Babson: “For instance, in raising a question for debate 
students invariably ask where they can find something written on the 
question? Let us assume that the question is, ‘Resolved: that the 
Federal Government should own and operate the railways.’ The usual 
method of procedure in preparing for such a debate is to read extensively. 
Few prefer a thinking process, although able to think clearly and well. 
Give a student a blank piece of paper and a pencil, then put him in a room 
alone with his thinking power. Tests show that the average advanced 
student, twenty-one years of age or over, can think out originally 
from fifty to seventy-five per cent of the pros and cons on the question, 
without reading a single line .”—Making Good in Business , p. 33. 


232 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


but every sermon rests upon a fundamental theology. 
This is most apparent in Newman; but it is precisely 
as real and potent in Bushnell and Chalmers. It 
determines the content of the discourse and finally 
guarantees its power. The preacher is by virtue of his 
work a theologian. Now and then we hear theology 
disparaged even by those who occupy pulpits. Preaching 
without theology would be as impossible as a messenger 
without a message. “Here I am, with nothing to say,” 
would be a poor announcement for a herald at any time. 
What the preacher has to say is his gospel, his theology. 
It may come to expression as positively as it does in 
Newman; it may lie deeply under the sermon as it does in 
Bushnell and Robertson; it may be as delicately suggested 
as it is in Ainsworth; but it is the great source of thought 
and feeling and volitional appeal in every sermon. 

Therefore, a word of counsel to all preachers is vital 
at this point. The preacher must master a theology. 
It must be his theology. It will probably be expressed 
as simply as it was by Bushnell; God in Christ. But it 
must be clear and positive and commanding. The way 
to master a theology is to preach it. The professor of 
Christian theology has the advantage of time and 
quietness in his work; but he misses the privilege of the 
preacher, who can see his theology verified day after 
day in the parish. Indeed, Christian theology at the 
beginning was wrought out by preachers; Paul is the 
great example. Christian theology is simply the formu¬ 
lation of the Christian experience; and this comes in 
fresh and vital forms constantly within the grasp of the 
pastor and preacher. Therefore Christian theology must 
be the main body of preaching. The preacher as scholar 


SOURCES OF SERMON MATERIAL 233 

and thinker exercises his powers in this field with peculiar 
advantages; his sources are not in books but in the 
unfolding life of the people day by day. It is the preacher 
who is the true “father of the church.” 

There is a vast difference between preaching Christian 
truth and dogmatic preaching. No preaching is worthy 
the Christian name that does not proclaim the Christian 
gospel, with every accent of certainty that the preacher 
can command. Disguised lectures in dogmatic theology 
are not sermons, although they are given texts and 
preached in churches. Men who believe the Christian 
gospel to be true and are sure that it is the sole solvent 
of the world’s woes and the satisfaction of its profoundest 
hopes are doctrinal preachers and cannot be otherwise. 

The use of contemporary life.—The Sermon Studies 
have shown that the eight preachers know the life of 
their time. They are specialists in the human soul. 
They know the psychology of the parish. They have 
been abroad among the people. The illustrations of their 
sermons come from the parish. They are like every 
true artist, fashioning their materials from the fertile 
and fascinating life around them. 

Not from a vain or shallow thought 
His awful Jove young Phidias wrought; 

Never from lips of cunning fell 
The thrilling Delphic oracle; 

Out from the heart of nature rolled 
The burdens of the Bible old; 

The litanies of nations came, 

Like the volcano’s tongue of flame, 

Up from the burning core below,— 

The canticles of love and woe. 1 

* Emerson, “The Problem.” 


234 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


Thus the preacher finds among the people the sugges¬ 
tions of subjects, the material for discussion, the apt and 
forceful illustrations which keep his sermons in touch 
with life. Beecher is a conspicuous example of this 
principle and therefore his own words are especially 
significant: “A man may know the Bible from Genesis 
to Revelation, he may know every theological treatise 
from the day of Augustine to the day of Dr. Taylor, 
and if he does not understand human nature, he is not 
fit to preach.” 1 

Material in history, biography, and literature.—The 

sermons that we have studied do not carry any extensive 
examples of the use of material from these fields; yet 
it is apparent that the preachers are men who have made 
themselves at home in these large areas. Especially is 
this apparent in Bushnell. The range of his culture is 
exceedingly wide. 

That literary field which is commonly known as the 
“literature of power” is the especial source of material 
for the preacher. There are certain books which have 
permanently influenced human thought and life. These 
are not merely the great devotional books, 2 but also such 
literary masterpieces as Les Miserables , which every 
preacher ought to read at least every five years, ponder¬ 
ing and inwardly digesting its central teaching. 

1 Beecher, Yale Lectures , I, 85. 

2 Strangely enough, the field of devotional literature is seriously 
neglected by the modern preacher. Yet the finest flower and fruitage of 
Christian experience is to be found in the classics of Christian devotion- 
No better course of reading for a winter could be projected than to follow 
Atkins, Pilgrims of the Lonely Road , and become acquainted with the 
men and books to which he introduces his readers with fine insight and 
in beautiful 


SOURCES OF SERMON MATERIAL 


235 


All the universe as the source of sermon material.— 
This apparently preposterous title is not so absurd as 
it appears at first glance. There must be the right 
sorting of material before it is used; but it may come 
from every quarter of life and may find its place in the 
sermon according to the beautiful laws of association 
that work quite unconsciously in the preacher’s mind. 

This has been put so well by Burton that it is profit¬ 
able to hear him on the point. He describes how a 
subject has been chosen and has polarized the preacher’s 
mind, so that he is in need of a great number of thoughts 
wherewith to make it clear, and then says: 

On reaching that crisis .... I go to my desk and my 
pen and my paper, and there sit waiting for thoughts. I open 
all my windows hospitably, so that if they want to come in 
they can. And they almost always want to. Somehow they 
hear that I am there. Why do all the winds of heaven pour 
down towards a vacuum ? Why do all the birds of heaven 
pour down through zones and zones seeking the summer? 
Why do all the waters of the world drift toward any hollow 
anywhere ? And why does all heaven move towards beseech¬ 
ing souls? No matter why. So it is, and that is enough. 
And it is enough for me to know that somehow my waiting 
mind there in my study is universally advertised, and excites 
a universal good will towards me, so that my windows are 
filled with inflocking thoughts, according (I am compelled 
to say) to the size and what not of my mind. T 

Of course, one would not be so foolish as to take this 
paragraph too literally. There is a vast difference 
between mere reverie, the sweet dawdling of the mind, 
and real thinking, which is harder work than sawing 

1 “Pulpit and Parish,” Yale Lectures , p. 49. 


236 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


wood with a dull saw. One might wait longer than 
Burton was obliged to do for the flock to arrive, and at 
best only a single bird might come in at the open windows. 
On one day the response might be slower than on another. 
This, however, does not invalidate the point that 
Burton makes, namely, that preaching lays under tribute 
all the possible resources of the universe. That sermon 
of ours is to be the greatest and noblest message that 
can be spoken through human lips; it is to be worthy of 
a contribution from any age or area of life. Of the 
preacher it may truly be said, “All things are yours.” 


CHAPTER IX 
ILLUSTRATIONS 


Purpose and importance of illustrations in sermons.— 
An illustration is any fact, incident, or figure that is 
used to make clear an analogous truth. It is not proof. 
Reasons have been called the pillars and walls of a 
discourse, while the illustrations are the windows that 
let in the light. In using illustrations we take it for 
granted that the universe is one, and therefore we may 
confidently try to understand one part by means of 
another. The chief forms of illustration are metaphors, 
similes, comparisons, examples, anecdotes, and stories. 
Spurgeon gives seven purposes in the use of illustration: 
to secure attention and create interest; to make truth 
lifelike and vivid; to explain; to give genuine aid to the 
reasoning powers; to aid the memory; to give pleasure 
to the audience by arousing fine emotion; to get hold 
of the inattentive and careless. Find in the Sermon 
Studies examples that justify each of these purposes. 
Suggest other uses of illustrations. 

Brooks says {Lectures and Preaching , p. 175): “And 
so I think that we confine too much the office of illustra¬ 
tion if we give it only the duty of making truth clear to 
the understanding, and do not also allow it the privilege 
of making truth glorious to the imagination.” Recall¬ 
ing the illustration of the light in Bushnell (p. 24, 1 . 119 
to p. 25, 1 . 146) and Brooks (p. 44, 1 . 46), show whether 
or not these preachers met the second demand indicated 
above. 


238 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


Dangers in the use of illustrations.—The first danger 
is the tendency to use illustrations too freely. An effec¬ 
tive illustration is a fascinating thing; it lays hold of 
the imagination; it is easy and pleasant to use. Without 
great caution the preacher lets the illustration run away 
with him; his house becomes all window. A sermon 
must never become a series of illustrations and stories 
strung on the tenuous line of a text. 

On the other hand, warned by the danger just noted, 
preachers tend to give up the use of illustrations, and 
so their sermons become formal and cold. There is a 
golden mean to find and follow. At least one illuminating 
figure for each sermon point is a safe rule. But it must 
not be uniformly followed. 

The dangers in the use of illustrations are self- 
evident. Two only need be noted: 

1. The familiar sentence declares, No illustration 
can walk on all fours. That is, at some point every 
figure will break down if its meaning is pressed to the very 
limits. There is just one central meaning which may be 
brought out safely; to press the details into service is 
to suffer final disaster. Recall the suggestion from 
Brooks (p. 46, 1 . 133). 

2. The illustrations are, for this reason, often the 
most vulnerable part of the sermon. A clever opponent 
may turn an illustration whose essential point is not 
well chosen or which is pressed too far into an argument 
in rebuttal. If his illustration refutes rather than 
proves his point the preacher is defeated. 

Principal sources of illustrations.—The Sermon 
Studies have shown how wide is the range and how 
different the methods employed in sermon illustration. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


239 


Newman and Ainsworth use practically no illustrations; 
they hammer away at their argument or explanation. 
Spurgeon bursts out with a paragraph that is almost 
too vivid. The best example of effective use of illustra¬ 
tions is Brooks. His notebooks are filled with suggestions 
for illustrations. In the Life and Letters (first edition 
in two volumes), II, 357-67, are the following: 

There are days which seem to be made up of spring and 
autumn, which have the hope of one and the despair of the 
other. Our time is like such a day. 

The mosaic work, whose pieces being long they can cut 
the mass at various points and find the same figure or face less 
a quarter in size, but keeping the same expression. So per¬ 
haps in various ages of history. 

As the one test of a well-tied knot is that it shall be so 
tied that the more strain is put upon it the stronger it holds. 

As when you fling your window up on the crowded 
street it seems as if the noises then began. 

The way in which each speaker in a play must mako the 
situation ready for the player who is to follow him, prepare 
for his speech or action. 

Like the bear in his disgraceful humiliation begging for 
nuts. 

This shows how the mind of the preacher was con¬ 
stantly active in gathering material for illustrations. 
Many of these were doubtless never used; but some of 
them lay at hand as occasion demanded their use. 

1. The Bible is one of the most frequent sources from 
which illustrations may be drawn. It is still better 
known to the majority of the congregation than any 


240 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


other book. The preacher is also more familiar with it 
than with any other single source. It furnishes the 
persons, the episodes, and the vital expressions of re¬ 
ligion in action that are needed for sermon illustration. 
The great preachers have been masters in the use of 
biblical material in this way. We recall the manner in 
which Brooks used the scene from the life of the Prodi¬ 
gal Son (p. 57, 1 . 506). Also Robertson’s use of Paul 
(p. 9, 1. 134). 

2. The daily experiences in the parish are another 
fertile source of illustrations. Bushnell and Brooks 
both avail themselves of such material with great 
discrimination and skill. Beecher, however, was espe¬ 
cially expert in the use of such material. The following 
incident is an example of this: 

One of his parishioners saw him one Saturday on a 
Brooklyn ferry-boat watching her push her way to the dock; 
and he said, “I’ll see what he has to say about that tomor¬ 
row.” Sure enough, in the morning sermon on “ The Founda¬ 
tions of Faith” he said, “As I was coming across from New 
York yesterday I observed that, as the boat forced her way 
into the narrow basin, the timbers on either side gave way, 
once and again, but always righted themselves. So it is 
with the great fundamental truths; they may bend and yield 
but never to the breaking point. The essential things are 
grounded forever.” 1 

Such illustrations, coming with freshness and vitality 
out of the actual life of the parish, bear with great force 
upon the minds of those who hear them. 2 If the preacher 

1 Quoted in Burrell, The Sermon , p. 226. 

a “The preacher is a pastor. His social life may be his choice. His 
pastorate is of his duties. His shoes are his pulpit. If to like it is not 
natural, he is to learn.”— Tilroe, Sent Forth , p. 21. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


241 


bears into his parish work a mind charged with a number 
of sermon subjects he is bound to find more illustrations 
than he can use effectively. 

3. The physical world is one of the richest mines for 
this treasure. Jesus was the consummate master of 
short illustrations from nature. He seldom used the 
history of his people; but he was at home with the 
flowers, the sparrows, the sky, and the lake. The great 
preachers have been adepts in the use of illustrations 
from the natural world. In using this material the 
danger is that the preacher will either select an inappro¬ 
priate example or that he will use it at too great length. 
There is a remarkable example of the accurate and 
concise use of an illustration from nature in Tennyson’s 
“Guinevere,” in Idylls of the King, in which he describes 
the results of the experience of Modred when Launcelot 
caught him spying on the queen and her maids from the 
top of a garden wall, plucked him “like a green worm” 
from the masonry and hurled him into the dust. 

But ever after, the small violence done 
Rankled in him and ruffled all his heart, 

As the sharp wind that ruffles all day long 
A little bitter pool about a stone 
On the bare coast. 

No illustration could be more appropriate for the 
spirit that is cherishing a hatred and is beaten into a 
bitter flurry by it all day long. Every item is accurate 
and illuminating. The wind is sharp; the pool is little 
and bitter and lies where the retreating tide has made a 
place for it beside a hard stone; the action goes on all 
day , never letting up its whipping; the coast is bare, 
like the petty and embittered life that fits into it. 


242 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


Details must be repressed. Note the following: 

What Mount Blanc as the king of the Alps is, lifting its 
crystal domes and towers 15,781 feet above the level of the 
Mediterranean Sea, compared with the other snow-clad 
and cloud-kissed mountains of the Alps, that Jesus Christ 
is compared with the loftiest men who have risen as mountain 
heights above their fellows through all the ages. 

The detail of the accurate height of the mountain is a 
distracting factor; it implies either an unusual accuracy 
of verbal memory or else leaves the suggestion that the 
preacher consulted the encyclopedia and displayed 
his erudition unnecessarily. 

It requires accurate discrimination and delicate skill 
to select and use an illustration with such effectiveness 
as this: “Do not think there is security in partial worldli¬ 
ness, in a moderate compromise. We do not need to 
wear the entire dress of a smallpox victim in order to 
acquire the disease. A bit of ribbon will do it!” 

4. The preacher’s general reading and study in 
history, biography, and literature furnish a wide range 
of material for illustrations. In no case will these be 
used unless they are clearly understood. References to 
books that the people have not read, to events about 
which they do not know, are unwise. The preacher 
must never allow the impression to prevail that he is the 
one learned man in the community and is parading the 
fact in his preaching. 

These are only a few of the fields from which illustra¬ 
tions may be drawn; in the previous chapter it has been 
shown that the whole range of human life is the source 
of sermon material. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


243 


Principles.—The following brief summary of the 
principles governing the use of illustrations is derived 
from the Sermon Studies and such other examples as are 
available: 

1. Economy and restraint .—In general use only one 
illustration to a point; but note the crowded paragraph 
in Spurgeon (p. 132, 1 . 306). When three illustrations are 
available, use only one and be sure that this lets in the 
light. 

2. Unity of central idea .—Mere resemblance is not 
enough. There must be actual unity of thought between 
the illustration and the truth illustrated. Breed shows 
how a student, preaching from Prov. 1:10, “My son, if 
sinners entice thee, consent thou not,” proposed to 
illustrate his subject by the use of the rat trap. The 
disparity between a good man trapping vermin and an 
evil man trying to destroy innocent souls is apparent. 
Happily this was a student practicing rather than 
preaching; but mistakes as atrocious are sometimes 
made by ordained men. 

3. Hold to the one central point .—This has been 
stressed already. 

4. Subordination .—The tendency of the forceful illus¬ 
tration is to become so conspicuous that it alone is seen 
and the truth which it is designed to clarify is actually 
obscured by neglect. This is the difference between a 
cathedral window which we look at and a living-room 
window which we look through. No figure is an end in 
itself; it exists wholly for the truth of the sermon. 

5. Blending .—By this we mean such literary handling 
of the illustration as will make it an actual part of the 
sermon and not a detail which is lugged in or stuck on. 


244 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


In looking at an exhibition of water-color pictures 
of marine subjects an observer said, “I am anxious about 
those boats: I am afraid they are going to fall out of 
the composition.” It was perfectly clear that the boats 
had been painted on but not into the picture. 

So illustrations must fit into the composition of the 
sermon and no fear must be felt that they are going to 
fall out of the sermon, thus destroying its essential 
unity. 

The following is an example of this principle: 

What do we mean by lowliness? .... Perhaps if we 
call to our mind the figure of a carpet or of a rug, we may be 
near to the New Testament conception of the word. When 
the carpets are up in the house there is a sense of general 
forlornness and discomfort. The hollow sounds in the house 
make the home sepulchral. When things are put straight 
again how comforting it is to have the carpets down. Or 
recall the comfort which the use of a rug gives to one in 
journeying. Or call to mind how refreshing it is to leave the 
hard dusty highway, where your feet have become weary 
and sore, and to turn on to the fringe of grass which now 
carpets the wayside. All these figures will lead us to the 
central suggestion of the meaning of lowliness. It is the 
laying down of one’s sympathies and affections, and making 
as it were a carpet or rug of them that the chills and pains 
of the world may be removed. 

6. Dignity and strength .—By this we do not mean 
that only the ornate and sublime must be sought. The 
homely and simple figures that Jesus used are both 
strong and dignified. So many times the congregation 
gains the impression that somehow the preacher was 
weak and petty in his use of illustration. It was not 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


245 


worthy of the truth or of the occasion. Little anecdotes 
and trivial remarks are used, to the disparagement of 
the whole subject. Make every illustration worth while. 

7. Beauty. —This calls for little comment. The whole 
sermon must be beautiful as well as true and strong. 
Anything that borders in the least on the coarse and 
ugly has no place in a sermon. 

8. Freshness .—Illustrations tend to go the rounds 
and to be worn thin in the process. For years the reply 
of the wounded soldier to the surgeon who was probing, 
“A little deeper and you will find the emperor,” was 
current in the pulpit of England and America. It 
became trite. New fields must be explored in the 
search for the figures that will add force and beauty to 
the sermon. Note one like this: “It is the tumult of the 
sea that sets the fog-bell going; it is the tumult in the 
religious soul that makes it aware of its own reality and 
wild melodious cry.” 

9. Picturesqueness and vividness .—Fresh illustrations 
are quite generally of this sort. Color and movement 
make an illustration effective. A vivid picture always 
makes a deep and clear impression. This is seen in the 
paragraph from Spurgeon to which attention has been 
called before (p. 132, 1. 306). 

10. Accuracy .—Spurgeon told his students that the 
moment he had any suspicion concerning the exact truth 
of any illustration he rejected it. Anecdotes are often 
passed on, gaining in color and incident as they proceed, 
until at last they have passed the bounds of accuracy. 
No preacher will play fast and loose with the complete 
truthfulness of his material. This applies to form as 
well as to content. 


246 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


The fierce light of the last day will, however, reveal these 
hidden things of insignificance, and picture them in large 
characters on the great white throne, as minute life is dis¬ 
closed on the screen of the naturalist. 

The illustration above is an exact quotation from a 
published sermon. The figure comes from the use of the 
stereopticon; it is therefore modern and vivid. But 
apparently the screen is on a throne, or else the throne 
is used in place of a screen. The jumble is not in good 
taste. 


CHAPTER X 


TRANSITIONS 

Importance.—It has been said that it is easy to get 
the heads of a sermon; it is not very difficult to get the 
body; the real problem is the neck. The point at which 
many a sermon breaks is the connection between points 
and paragraphs. Transition is vital to a sermon. 
Therefore we have made this one of the definite sections 
in the Work Sheet. The result of the study of the eight 
reports is as follows. 

Variety.—The Sermon Studies show that all kinds of 
devices and lack of them may be expected in sermons. 
Brooks and Bushnell work with extreme care to carry 
the thought of the hearer from point to point by the use 
of some word or phrase that will transfer one surely and 
smoothly. Newman is an equally accurate craftsman. 
Beecher, trusting the devices of the orator, does not 
pay much attention to the rhetorical means of transition. 
Ainsworth has no paragraphs and therefore offers little 
in the way of suggestion. Therefore, again we note 
how wide is the variety of technique in the case of 
preachers who have been among the outstanding masters 
of their art. 

Means used.—The first device is the use of a connec¬ 
tive word. These are the familiar conjunctions and 
conjunctive adverbs which would naturally be employed 
to show relations of paragraphs, and therefore effect 
easily and logically the transition of the hearer’s thought. 
m 


248 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


The principal words and the number of times they 
are used are as follows: but , fourteen; now , fourteen; 
then , eleven; too and also , nine; again, seven; thus , four; 
therefore , three. There are many similar words that are 
used a less number of times. In the written sermon 
there is less danger of falling into the habitual use of such 
words than in the ex tempore style. For example, extem¬ 
poraneous speakers fall easily into the habit of making 
the majority of their thought transitions by the use 
of the word “now” or “now then.” If the sermon is 
carefully written a larger variety of words will be 
chosen. 

The second method of effecting smooth and convin¬ 
cing transitions of thought is to use some word or phrase 
near the end of the paragraph that will look forward to 
being taken up in the beginning of the next paragraph, 
thus making the connection of the thought clear and 
close. Brooks gives us many examples of this. Turn 
to page 43, the close of the first paragraph and the 
beginning of the second: 

Such words of Jesus are like spheres of crystal into which 
the world is gathered, and where the past and future, the 
small and great, may all be read. 

It seems to me as if there were days on which we wanted 
to set one of these comprehensive words of Christ before our 
eyes and study it. 

Here the transition of the thought is accomplished 
in two ways, each of which is exquisitely handled: 
(1) There is the carrying out of the figure of the crystal, 
every item of which is brought out and stressed with 
accurate discrimination, and (2) there is the repetition 
of the term itself, “words,” which makes the change of 


TRANSITIONS 


249 


thought from the general to the more specific immediate 
and convincing. 

This is a single example of the workmanship of a 
preacher who aims at making his discussion move 
accurately and smoothly from point to point. 

Then come all the phrases such as “in the first place,” 
“let us consider next,” “we pass now to discuss.” In 
the cultivation of his technique the preacher must 
furnish his mind and memory with a considerable 
number and a wide variety of such terms as these, making 
sure that he does not repeat himself and that he never 
limits himself to a pet phrase. The best way in which 
to acquire a stock of these phrases is to study the liter¬ 
ary style of the best masters in English and consciously 
attempt to fix in memory the most effective of their 
terms. 

Finally, there are the oratorical devices, which cannot 
be placed in the printed sermon, but which are used by 
preachers like Beecher. Physical movements in chan¬ 
ging posture or the use of gesture, variations in tone, 
changes in pitch and inflection of voice, are all useful and 
effective means by which the thought of hearers may be 
carried from point to point and stages in the discussion 
clearly indicated. 

Patience in practice.—Skill in the effecting of transi¬ 
tions will not come at once. It is a part of the preachers’ 
skill which must be worked for diligently and long. It 
takes practice and patience to achieve a high degree of 
effectiveness. The only way to win is to recognize the 
necessity of carrying the congregation with you in the 
discussion and then practicing the art of transition with 
tireless patience. 


CHAPTER XI 


UNITY 

Necessity of unity in the sermon.—No discussion is 
required to justify the statement that an effective sermon 
must be unified by the consistency of its purpose, mate¬ 
rials, and method of treatment. If it fails in this respect 
it loses its power to validate its truth. A sermon must 
not be like a string of beads, held together merely by the 
string. A sermon is not a series of pious rambling 
remarks on a religious subject. Every sermon must have 
a definite purpose, be concerned with a specific subject, 
progress steadily toward the climax. Therefore it must 
be unified. 

Principles derived from the Sermon Studies.—The 
first general conclusion is that all the sermons are well 
unified. In spite of its apparent lack of structure, 
Ainsworth has brought the reflections on his great subject 
into almost perfect unity of explanation, proof, and 
persuasion. There are only minor defects in Robertson’s 
plan. Spurgeon ranges widely but never far afield from 
his announced line of development. Beecher is most 
open to criticism for loose logical structure, but he makes 
up for any possible weakness by the steadiness of his 
purpose and his oratorical glow. Bushnell, Brooks, 
Chalmers, and Newman are admirable examples of 
unified discourse. 

From the Studies it appears that we may look foi 
unity in a sermon under at least three heads. 


250 


UNITY 


251 

1. The preacher's purpose .—While we cannot enter 
fully into the conscious mental purposes of these eight 
preachers, it is safe to affirm that each one of them sets 
out deliberately to accomplish a certain result. Robert¬ 
son earnestly desires to show that there is one way in 
which to come into the mastery of Christian truth, which 
is by obedience to the truth that is already known. 
Bushnell sets out to prove that the mightiest forces in 
our moral and spiritual environment are exerted without 
deliberate intention. Brooks is so committed to a great 
religious doctrine, and finds in the figure of light such a 
consummate expression of it, that he undertakes to 
affirm the truth and apply it to life with energetic 
directness. Beecher has such a personal conviction of 
the central meaning of Christ in human experience that 
he flames forth in oratorical expression of it. Newman, 
sharing the same certainty, undertakes to prove that 
Christ is the incarnate Son of God by an appeal to the 
creeds and Scripture; his method is therefore entirely 
different from that of Beecher, although his essential 
purpose is the same. Chalmers, like Bushnell and 
Robertson, has mastered a profound spiritual principle, 
and he endeavors to demonstrate it, with a strong com¬ 
mand of the psychological materials involved. Spurgeon 
knows the plain people, with all their weight of care 
under the burden of the day; he wants to comfort them 
and set them singing under the load; so he throws his 
whole heart into his message. Ainsworth does the same, 
briefly and beautifully, in sharp distinction as to materials 
and method, but with complete identity of purpose. 

In every case this purpose gives its essential unity to 
the sermon. When we start out to do something we 


252 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


must use those materials, adopt those methods, employ 
those illustrations—those and no others—which will 
make for the successful achievement of the purpose we 
have defined. The unity of the sermon is made or 
destroyed by this purpose, always present to guide and 
sustain the preacher preparing his sermon. The re¬ 
affirmation of his purpose may not always save him from 
digressions and obscurities; but there is no other single 
safeguard so trustworthy as this. When we find our¬ 
selves getting mixed up or losing our aim, we should 
stop short and ask ourselves, “What am I driving at?” 
In almost every case the answer will set us going again. 
Does the argument, the illustration, the appeal help us 
in the realization of the purpose of the sermon? Then, go 
on. If not, stop and change. 

2. The preacher’s materials .—The preacher’s purpose 
governs him in the selection or rejection of the materials 
at hand. The final arrangement must consist of materials 
that are related and unified. Phelps classifies all mate¬ 
rials under four heads: explanation, illustration, argu¬ 
ment, persuasion. 1 

Leaving aside for the moment the correctness of his 
proposition, it is apparent that here is a fine test of sermon 
unity so far as it involves materials. Undoubtedly 
all four factors may be found in every sermon; they 
appear especially in those constructed according to the 

1 “Explanation, illustration, argument, persuasion are all that exist 
of rhetorical material and method with which [we have] to deal. One 
or more of these four things must be done in all good discourse; and in 
such discourse nothing else can be done. When you have exhausted 
these four elements of speech, you have exhausted all the resources of 
speech. This classification, therefore, includes all the variety of which 
rational discourse is susceptible .”—Theory of Preaching , p. 36. 


UNITY 


253 


classic model. Therefore the test of any paragraph or 
unit of thought is: Does it explain, prove, illustrate, 
or persuade? Does it do this effectively and better than 
anything else at hand for the particular purpose dominant 
at the moment? Unity of materials will be secured when 
the treatment is managed in this way. 

3. The preacher's technique .—The method of handling 
materials must be unified. That is, technique must be 
consistent. Compare the dogmatic assurance of New¬ 
man and Spurgeon. One is as intense as the other. 
They are, of course, utterly at variance in their superficial 
expressions of certainty; but both are dogmatic to the 
highest degree. 1 

When it comes to technique, however, the Protestant 
orator of the Tabernacle and the Catholic theologian of 
St. Mary’s, Oxford, are poles apart. Each sermon is 
consistent and characteristic throughout. Imagine the 
two preachers exchanging material and method in mid¬ 
stream ! Which means simply that every preacher must 
work out his own technique, be freely consistent in its 
use, and produce unified sermons in this way. 2 

Unity in variety.—In saying that the sermon must 
carry through the same subject we do not mean sameness 
in the treatment of the subject. The ideal, variety in 
unity and unity in variety, obtains in the sermon. A 
wide range of variety is perfectly consistent with unity. 
It is such diversity as we see, for example, in the human 

1 This is true to a large extent also in the case of Brooks. 

2 Vinet says that there are two kinds of unity: logical and psycho¬ 
logical. A sermon on Rom. 12:1 would have logical unity, closely 
reasoned, precise; a sermon on II Pet. 1:5-7 would be unified by the 
common spirit that binds the eight virtues together and makes of them not 
a catalogue, but a consistent whole. 


254 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


body, where the organism is made up of organs of many 
kinds. The harmonizing principle is that of function. 
So long as each organ is contributing its proper gift to 
the organism, the matter of its identical character in 
comparison with another organ is without significance. 
So the sermon may carry explanations, arguments, illus¬ 
trations, and appeals of the greatest variety, provided 
only that each and all contribute to the realization of the 
purpose of the sermon. Sameness becomes weariness; 
variety in unity lightens the discourse and makes it 
convincing and effective. 


CHAPTER XII 


STYLE 

Method of study.—In the Work Sheet the seven 
qualities of style are given as they are indicated in 
Phelps, English Style in Pulpit Discourse. In the 
following paragraphs we shall define these qualities in 
the terms which Phelps uses. After discussing the 
examples of these qualities as revealed by the Sermon 
Studies we shall make suggestions as to the way in which 
the preacher is to seek to cultivate his style. 

Definition.—“ Style is the general term by which we 
designate the qualities of thought as expressed in lan¬ 
guage .” 1 That is, the style inheres in the thought as 
it is expressed and not in the words which are used in 
expressing it. Therefore Phelps adds: “Style is thought. 
Qualities of style are qualities of thought. Forms of 
style are thought in form.” 

Qualities of style.—These are given under seven 
heads by Phelps. Wendell reduces them to three 
clearness, force, and elegance. If the first and second 
of Phelps are placed under clearness and the sixth and 
seventh are taken as additions to Wendell, we have 
correspondence in classification between the two writers. 

1 English Style, etc., pp. 2, 6. See also Barrett Wendell, English 
Composition, p. 4: u Style .... means simply the expression of thought 
or emotion in written words; it applies equally to an epic, a sermon, 
a love-letter, an invitation to an evening party.” Brunetiere said: 
“Style is one’s manner of expressing oneself.” 


2 55 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


256 


1. Purity .—In pure style the thought is clothed in 
English words, construed according to the laws of English 
grammar, with the words employed in the sense that is 
sanctioned by good usage. Good usage is a somewhat 
indefinite term. Brewster gives three standards: it is 
present and national and reputable . 1 The frequent gibe, 
“I speak English, but I understand American/’ does not 
worry one who knows that the national standard has 
complete right to existence and is valid. The matter of 
reputable usage must be settled by the writer himself. 
It is not difficult, however, to determine what may fairly 
be called reputable; it is such usage as we find con¬ 
sistently employed by those who are by common consent 
the masters of the clearest and most forceful diction. 
A writer’s position, rated by the books written, the 
quality of publications, and the general standing of the 
author may be determined with sufficient accuracy to 
render the standard definite. 

2. Precision .—It is another term for exactness; and 
it means that quality of thought expressed in words by 
which it conveys “no more, no less, and no other” 
than precisely what the author meant. It is not the same 
as clearness, as will be seen by the self-evident fact that 
a sentence may be precise and yet not clear. If the 
author himself was confused, and expresses, therefore, a 
confused or obscure thought, the expression may be 
precise but still obscure. The test of precision is one 
that the writer must apply to himself; it is exceedingly 
difficult, for example, to apply it to the thought of a 
writer or speaker as we read or hear it, unless we know 
what his thought actually was. As a standard for use 

1 English Composition and Style , p. 179 


STYLE 


257 


in the actual work of thinking and writing, precision is 
most valuable. We ought to test every sentence by the 
searching questions: Does this actually convey the 
thought that I had in mind? Will it be an accurate 
expression to others, even if it is to me? At this point 
we pass into a study of clarity in style. 

3. Clearness .—It is that quality of thought expressed 
in words by which it immediately becomes plain in 
meaning to the hearer or reader. Quintilian called it 
the greatest excellence in discourse. Certainly no other 
quality is more desirable in preaching than clearness. 
If the people do not know what the preacher meant to 
say they have been cheated. We ought to consider the 
fact that, if a hundred persons give each a half-hour of 
time to listening to a sermon, fifty hours have been 
placed at the disposal of the preacher, more than six 
days of time estimated at the eight-hour day. No man 
has a right to use up this sacred time with obscure or 
mumbled preaching. Every word, every sentence, every 
paragraph ought to be clear as daylight, so that no 
hearer is left guessing. Thought must be clear to the 
preacher before it can be clearly expressed in written 
or spoken form. The greatest compliment that a hearer 
can pay a preacher is to say, “I understand you.” 

4. Energy or force .—Phelps does not attempt to 
define energy in style. He says that we understand it 
best by reflecting upon the synonyms for it. In nature 
we are sensitive to the facts of force, strength, vigor. 
We feel them. 

We can only say that energy is a peculiar kind of impies- 
siveness; it is the impressiveness of strength as distinct from 
that of clearness; it is the impressiveness of force as distinct 


258 PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 

from that of beauty; it is the impressiveness of vigor as 
distinct from that of vivacity. 1 

The listener or reader senses this quality in a moment. 
Current and slangy speech calls this “punch” and “pep.” 
Unfortunately it is often connected with the activities 
of the vocal and pulpit-pounding acrobat. We do not 
mean this false form of energy. We mean rather the 
thinking and then the writing or preaching of the man 
who is alive to his finger tips with his subject. 

5. Beauty .—This is the quality of thought as 
expressed in words which conveys the sense of order, 
harmony, and loveliness. We are often told that it is 
quite enough to have made thought clear and forceful; 
but it is not enough. There is an innate craving for 
beauty in every listener. The true preacher, working 
under even the most forbidding conditions, knows that 
he must turn out a beautiful product. It ought not to 
be necessary to appeal for beauty in modem preaching; 
but it is. 

This quality of style appears in the great preachers 
in a conspicuous degree. It is not a confession of 
weakness or sentimentality to say that a sermon is 
beautiful. Two examples of varying types of beauty 
in preaching are George A. Gordon and John Henry 
Jowett. 2 Passages taken almost at random from their 
published sermons show the exquisite quality of their 
craftsmanship. South is another example. 3 His sen¬ 
tences are beautiful in form and finish. Many elements 
enter into the composition of beauty in English style; 

1 Phelps, op. tit., p. 202. 

2 See Revelation and the Ideal and Brooks by the Traveller's Way. 

3 World's Great Sermons, II, 221. 


STYLE 


259 


but it may instantly be felt and it wins favor for the truth 
when ugliness of any sort loses the verdict for the preacher. 

6 . Naturalness .—The definition of Phelps is admir¬ 
able. He says: “Naturalness is that quality by which 
style expresses the fitness of language to thought, of 
both thought and language to the speaker, and of 
thought, language, and speaker to the hearer.” In other 
words, the whole thing is a fit, “snug as an old shoe.” 
There are three violations of naturalness: the holy tone, 
the distant manner, and the abstracted relation. All 
those words which have become conventional and all those 
tones which are assumed for the moment by the preacher 
are the enemies of naturalness. A young preacher, in a 
high and artificial tone, once delivered himself of this 
ponderous utterance: “Daniel Webster, in the solemn 
moment immediately preceding his dissolution,” when 
what he really meant to say was, “just before he died.” 
It is a strange fact that the moment a preacher begins 
to speak in the pulpit he tends to assume a voice and a 
vocabulary that are wholly unnatural and that he never 
would use in talking with people on common occasions. 
The pulpit may become the enemy of a natural style. 
It tends to elevate and to separate. The preacher 
throws down his truth from on high to the people; it is 
utterly false. 1 

1 Rainsford has the following sensible counsel on this point: “This 
being unnatural is the great secret of loss of power in the pulpit; as soon 
as men stand in the pulpit things change; there are certain things they 
feel they must not say—unfortunately often the best things they have 
to say—their convictions must be toned down, very often just the 
convictions they do not want to be toned down; they must trim their 
words and leave out their most vital illustrations .”—A Preacher's 
Story of His Work , p. 193. 


26 o 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


7. Individuality .—This means simply that the true 
preacher infuses himself into his style. This was the 
meaning of Buff on’s statement, “Style is the man 
himself.” Others have said, “Style is character.” The 
whole man speaks in the sermon. 

We feel this in all the Sermon Studies. It is a subtle 
quality; but it lies deeply imbedded in the very structure 
of the sermon. No one of these preachers thinks like any 
other. Newman stands out clearly in contrast not only 
with Spurgeon, but also with Bushnell. Ainsworth never 
could be confused with Brooks. Your style must fit 
yourself. If it is a mere imitation of someone else, it 
is a pitiful failure. 

Cultivation of style.—Certain gifts come to the 
preacher by birthright; others are gained at the price 
of labor and ceaseless vigilance. Those fortunate souls 
who are endowed with facility in expression are never 
released from the obligation to labor on their style; 
and those who struggle with scanty gifts at the beginning 
ought to be confident that the rewards of labor will be 
manifest in time. We can learn how to write and speak 
well, however handicapped at first. Let that be the 
assurance with which we work. The secret of success is 
work and practice; then work and practice; then still 
more work and still more practice. No clearer statement 
of the solution of the problem ever has been made than 
by the gracious master of style, Albert J. Lyman, in 
the words: “The best way to acquire a fine style is to 
develop a fine soul and then pour out the whole of it 
in one’s preaching.” 1 


1 Preaching in the New Age, p. 41. 


STYLE 


261 


Practice in clear thinking begins with ourselves. 
Mud in the sermon comes from a muddy mind in the 
preacher. Deal with your own understanding. Ask 
such questions as these: Do I understand this truth 
myself? Do I see its relations clearly? Many a hazy 
point would never be projected at an audience if the 
preacher had first cleared himself completely. Abraham 
Lincoln was an example of the fundamental method by 
which clearness is secured; he never would try to state 
a point until he had bounded it on all sides and under¬ 
stood it fully. 1 

Then it is necessary to work with tireless devotion 
on the mastery of the English language. We need to 
exalt our conception of the nobility and worth of our 
own mother-tongue. We tend to undervalue that which 
we know best and handle day by day. We exalt the 
value of the classics, and formerly Hebrew and Greek 
were considered requisites for the trained preacher. 
Preaching, however, is done in English, in the great 
language of our fathers, in the noble speech of the masters 
of the British and American pulpits. Dale spoke so 
earnestly and truly on this point that his words deserve 
quotation here: 

Let me remind you .... that your language is one of 
the noblest and most precious parts of that inheritance 
which you have received from a great ancestry. It is the 
living and glorious monument of the thought, the endurance, 
the achievements, and the sorrows of many generations. 
It has been created by the affections and by the toil of the 
common people, by the genius of orators and poets, by the 

x See Davis, Preaching by Laymen , p. 107, and Tarbell, Life of 
Abraham Lincoln , II, 43. 


262 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


speculations of philosophers, by the devotion of saints. It is a 
legacy from your remote forefathers in the German forests 
whose virtues are celebrated by the severest of Roman his¬ 
torians. It preserves some of the most costly treasures of 
ancient civilizations. It is the fruit of long years of patient 
industry, of cruel wars, of voyages in strange seas, and of 
travels in strange lands. It is yours, but all the citizens of 
this great commonwealth have a property in it. 1 

Along with this respect for the worth of English 
must go wide reading and constant writing. In the 
midst of the parish pressure the modern preacher is sorely 
tempted to remit his study and reading. Mere hand-to- 
mouth provision for the sermon needs of pitilessly 
recurring Sundays will not answer. Planning, thinking, 
study, specific sermon preparation are imperative. 
More writing is absolutely necessary for the preacher 
who is to meet the needs of the day. The Sermon 
Studies reveal this principle clearly. These sermons 
were worked out by various methods; but they show 
care and labor. There is no easier path possible to the 
efficient preacher. 

Sermon writing and mastery of style.—Therefore 
the surest way in which to master a fine style is through 
the long and often irksome discipline of writing sermons. 
This is so expensive in respect to time and labor that 
younger preachers especially tend to overlook or neglect 
it. There is no other way, however, by which a preacher 
ever can become the possessor of noble English style. 

At the beginning of the preacher's work the whole 
sermon ought to be written. Not less than ten years of 


1 Nine Lectures on Preaching, p. 179. 


STYLE 


263 


such rigid practice will suffice; and writing may never 
safely be abandoned. 

Note that this does not mean that the sermon as 
written is to be taken into the pulpit and read. It may 
or may not be so used. We are discussing the practice 
of habitual and painstaking sermon-writing entirely 
apart from the method of sermon delivery. 

It is the universal experience of preachers who have 
been faithful to the task of writing that it grows easy 
and pleasant with practice. The use of the type¬ 
writer has greatly reduced the drudgery of writing 
sermons. The craft is subject to the law that obtains in 
all others: We like best that which we do best, and we 
do best that which we like best. The way, therefore, in 
which we may most successfully achieve real pleasure 
in sermon-writing is to begin and to continue writing 
sermons well. It is a comforting fact that power is 
gained in action. Such gains of skill and happiness will 
come to those who keep everlastingly at it in writing 
week after week on their sermons. 

Sermon delivery.—This does not come within the 
province of our discussion, which has had in view the 
preparation of the sermon as a literary product. There 
are three ways in which the sermon may be delivered: 
from the written manuscript (reading style); from the 
memorized manuscript (memoriter style); from scanty 
or no notes, having made most careful preparation of 
material but leaving the words to come at the moment 
(extemporaneous style). Relatively few can use the 
second method. The first is not desired in the majority 
of congregations; it may be used for a time or occasion- 


264 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


ally, with the deliberate intention of the preacher to 
work out of it into the third method. The last is the 
best. It means simply that the preacher knows just 
what he means to say; but he does not know precisely 
the words that he will use to say it. The extemporaneous 
style does not imply less preparation, but rather more. 
The time consumed in memorization may be put upon 
preparation. Many sentences and even whole para¬ 
graphs will occur to the extemporaneous preacher from 
his written sermon; but he will not rely upon memory. 
His sermon will be a message, and he will be sure that he 
is a messenger, with the prophetic fire burning within 
him and the confidence of the ambassador sustaining 
him in his utterance. 


INDEX 

















INDEX 


Abbott, Lyman: concerning ser¬ 
mon introductions, 214; Life of 
Beecher, quoted, 69 

Aeolian harp, 125 

Affection cannot be displaced by 
expulsion, 105 

Ainsworth, Percy C.: biographical 
sketch, 170; sermon, “Star 
Counting and Heart Healing,” 
printed, 172; The Wilderness 
and the Sunrise, cited for intro¬ 
duction, 212 

Allen, Alexander V. G., Life and 
Letters of Phillips Brooks, quoted, 
239 

Apostles’ Creed, text from, 193 

Arnold, Matthew, reference to, 67 

Athanasian Creed, 164 

Atkins, G. Glenn, Pilgrims of the 
Lonely Road, cited, 234 note; 
quoted, 192 note 

Atonement, 75, 113 

Authority in religion, 6, 14 

Babson, Roger W., Making Good 
in Business, cited for sources of 
sermon material, 231 

Beecher, Henry Ward: biographi¬ 
cal sketch, 68; sermon, “What 
Is Christ to Me,” printed, 71; 
sermon theme noted, 201; his 
use of illustrations, 240; Yale 
Lectures on Preaching , quoted, 
65, cited, 234 

Beecher, Lyman, “The Govern¬ 
ment of God Desirable,” cited 
for proposition, 206 

Benhadad, 133 

Bible, ss; as source of texts, 192 
note 


Bright, John, his preparation of 
his introductions, 210 

Brooks, Phillips: biographical 
sketch, 41; biographies of, 42; 
sermon, “Light of the World,” 
printed, 43; Lectures on Preach¬ 
ing, cited concerning illustra¬ 
tions, 237; his method of gather¬ 
ing illustrations, 239 

Brown, Charles Reynolds: con¬ 
cerning sermon introductions, 
215; Yale Talks, 38 

Burke, his preparation of con¬ 
clusion to oration, 218 

Burrell, David J., The Sermon , 
quoted, 240 

Burton, N. P., “Pulpit and 
Parish,” cited for sources of 
sermon material, 235 

Bushnell, Horace: biographical 
sketch, 18; sermon, “Uncon¬ 
scious Influence,” printed, 21; 
quoted, 65; text, use of, 195; 
“Every Man’s Life a Plan of 
God,” “The Spirit in Man,” and 
“The Reason of Faith,” cited 
for propositions, 207 

Campbell, R. J., use of multiple 
texts, 195 

Carey, William, quoted, 193 

Chalmers, Thomas: biographical 
sketch, 96; sermon, “The Ex¬ 
pulsive Power of a New Affec¬ 
tion,” printed, 98 

Channing, William E., “The Char¬ 
acter of Christ,” cited for 
proposition, 207 

Character, Christian standard of, 
48 

Children, 29 


267 


268 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


Christ: authority of, 7; the 
Burden-bearer, 84; the Captain, 
91; and the Christian religion, 
60; God and man in one Person, 
155; God in, 108; as God to 
our thought, 77, 81; Greek ideas 
of, 74; how to be presented to 
men, 72; importance of know¬ 
ing, 71; his influence, 33; 
interpreted by the imagination, 
80; is God, 155; is one Person, 
155; is Son of God, 156; the 
Light of the World, 45; love 
for, 72; our Mediator, 161; as 
personal Savior, 76,145; preach¬ 
ing of, 36; relation to disciples, 
72; his relation to man, 77; 
revealer of God, 176; Roman 
ideas concerning, 75; not strange 
to life, 53, 54; theological ideas 
concerning, 75; treatment of 
Pharisees, 87 
Christian, the, 48 
Christian experience, 47, 59 
Christian Nurture, 39 
Christlieb, quoted, 193 note 
Church, the: Christian, 54; a 
school of obedience, 106 
Clifford, John, use of text, 193 
Conclusion, the sermon, 189, 217- 
20 

Contents of the sermon, 189 
Conversion, 50, hi 
C ourage, 139 

Creeds and experience, 179 

Dale, R. W.: counsel concerning 
sermon plan, 222; tests of ser¬ 
mon plans, 223; Nine Lectures 
on Preaching, quoted, 261 
Dawson, William J., Christ among 
the Common Things of Life, cited 
for introduction, 212 
Death, 137, 139 

Deductive method in sermon 
development, 64 
Delivery of the sermon, 263 
Desire requires an object, 99 


Development of the sermon, 189 
Doctrine, definition of, 8 
Doing good, method of, explained, 
35 

Dow, Lorenzo, use of quaint 
introduction to sermon, 213 

Election, 130 
Elihu, 123 

Emerson, Ralph Waldo: essay 
titles noted, 201; “The Prob¬ 
lem,” cited, 233 
Ennui, 102 
Enthusiasm, 31 

Essay, the, compared with sermon, 
188 

Expository sermons, 226 note 

Faith, 141, 143, 145; in Christ, 
108; and feeling, 10 
Fashion, 30; votaries of, 102 
Form of the sermon, 189 
Forsyth, P. T., quoted, 198 

Genung, Practical Elements of 
Rhetoric, quoted, 200 
Gibbon, J. Morgan, use of text, 194 
Gladden, Washington, cited con¬ 
cerning sermon plans, 225 
God: cannot be defined, 78; in 
Christ, 108; discerned in the 
night, 124; the giver of past 
blessings, 130; inspires Chris¬ 
tian songs, 127; majesty and 
mercy of, 175; remote from 
life, 173; the sum of Christian 
experience, 126 
Gordon, George A., cited, 258 
Gospel, the: invitation of, 50; 
object of, 114 

Grace, divine, in salvation, 131 
Greek influences on Christianity, 
74 

Growth, methods of, 71 

Habakkuk, 126 
Habits, how changed, 99 


INDEX 


269 


Heaven, 137 
HeH, 145 

History, philosophy of, 57 
Homiletics, material and formal, 
190 

Hoyt, The Work of Preaching , 
quoted, 201 

Humanity, worth of, 59 
Hutton, John A.: “The One 
Ground of Confidence,” quoted 
for sermon conclusion, 218 

Illustrations, 237-46 
Imitation, instinct of, 29 
Incarnation, 54, 160 
Inductive method used, 183 
Influence: conscious and uncon¬ 
scious, their relative importance, 
22; human, 25, 35 
Introduction, the sermon, 210-16 
Ireland, the famine in, 83 
Israel, children of, in Egypt, 112 

Java , the, 82 
Jesus, words of, 43 
Jewish and Christian ideas, 73 
Job, 133 

Jowett, J. Henry, Behind and 
Before , cited for introduction, 
211; cited, 258 

Knowledge, Christian, 7 

Language, voluntary and involun¬ 
tary, 26 

Latimer, Hugh, sermon proposi¬ 
tion cited, 208 
Law, universal, n 
Lecture, the, compared with ser¬ 
mon, 186 note, 188 
Light, 24; and Christ, 89; the 
figure of, studied, 65; Parable 
of, 44; relation to the world, 45 
Lincoln, Abraham, his method of 
defining a subject, 261 
Love: to Christ, 139; of God, 81; 
the law of, 11; its two states, 98 


Luther, 140 

Lyman, Albert J., Preaching in the 
New Age, quoted, 260 

Man: a child of God, 47, 49, 58, 
59; the mystery of, 53 
Manliness, Christian, 52 

Manning, “The Triumph of the 
Church,” cited for proposition, 
206 

Material for sermon, sources of, 
228-36 

Matthews, Brander, quoted, 189 
note 

Missionary, the, 56 
Munger, Theodore T., Horace 
BushneU , quoted, 19 

Nature abhors a vacuum, 104 

Newman, John Henry: biographi¬ 
cal sketch, 152; sermon, “ Christ 
the Son of God Made Man,” 
printed, 154 
Night, 123 

Norwood, F. W., use of text, 194 
note 

Novum Organon, 12 

Obedience and knowledge, 14 
Opinions and habits, 8 
Oration and sermon, 92, 188 
Orchard, W. E., “The Inescapable 
God,” quoted for sermon con¬ 
clusion, 218 

Parker, Theodore, “The Transient 
and Permanent in Christianity,” 
cited for proposition, 207 
Passover and Easter, 154 
Paul, 32, 142 

Peter and John at tomb of Jesus, 
21 

Phelps, Austin: emphasis on texts, 
191 note; Theory of Preaching , 
cited, 210 note, 252 note; Eng¬ 
lish Style in Pulpit Discourse , 
cited, 255, quoted, 257 


270 


PRINCIPLES OF PREACHING 


Plan of the sermon, 221-27; 

Spurgeon, 197; Maclaren, 198 
Preaching, 143; effectual, 107, 
109; types of, 184 
Predestination, 9 
Prodigal Son, Parable of, 57 
Proposition, the sermon, 187, 205-9 
Protestant reformation, 76 

Rainsford, W. S., A Preacher's, 
Story of His Work , quoted, 259 
Rationalism, 6 

Religion: natural to man, 52; 

spirit of, how propagated, 31 
Robertson, Frederick W.: bio¬ 
graphical sketch, 3; method of 
sermon preparation, 3; sermon, 
“Obedience the Organ of Spir¬ 
itual Knowledge,” printed, 5-14; 
sermon theme criticized, 201 
Roman influences on Christianity, 
75 

Salvation, 49, 145; by faith, 82; 

Luther’s conception of, 76 
Second coming of Christ, 72, 135 
Sermon, the: analysis, xiii; com¬ 
pared with other literary prod¬ 
ucts, 186; contents and form, 
189; defined, 184; definition by 
Phelps, 185 note; delivery of, 
263; never to be regarded apart 
from the preacher, xi; occasional, 
17; part of an order of worship, 
185; parts of, 187; varied forms 
of, 184; writing of, 262 
Shannon, F. F., The Enchanted 
Universe , cited for sermon con¬ 
clusions, 220 
Slavery, 9 

Spurgeon, Charles Haddon: bio¬ 
graphical sketch, 121; method 
of sermon preparation, 122; ser¬ 
mon, “Songs in the Night,” 
printed, 123; allegorizing of 
text, 197 

Stalker, James, sermon theme 
noted, 201 


Stars, 172 

Style: in preaching, xvii; literary, 

255-64 

Subject, the sermon, 187, 199-204 
Suffering, reason of, 174 
Sun, the, a figure of Christ, 89 

Te Deum Laudamus, used as text, 
193 

Tennyson, Idylls of the King , 
quoted, 241 

Text, the, 187, 191-^98; repetition 
of, 16; and title, in Bushnell, 38 
Textual sermon plans, 225 
Theme, the sermon, 201 
Title, the sermon, 187, 199 
Topic, the sermon, 201 
Topical sermon plans, 226 
Transitions, rhetorical, in sermons, 
247-49 

Trinity, the Holy, 158 
Truth, 52; knowledge of, 10 
Tucker, William J., cited con¬ 
cerning sermon plans, 225 

Unity of the sermon, 250-54 

Van Dyke, Henry, quoted, 63 
Virgin, the, 160 

Watson, John, quoted, 194; ser¬ 
mon theme noted, 201 
Weavers of Spitalfields, 135 
Webster, Daniel, debate with 
Hayne, 193 

Wendell, Barrett, English Com¬ 
position, quoted, 255 note 
Will, place of, in knowledge, 13 
Wordsworth, William, sonnet, 
“The World Is Too Much with 
Us,” quoted, 9, 16 
World, love of, how displaced 
from human heart, 98 
Writing of the sermon, 262 

Youth, problems of, 58 

Zaccheus, 88 


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